Poll: Christ Church Cathedral fence may be moved to free up square for entertainment
With the cathedral restoration on pause, city council staff are engaging with Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd to have the boundary moved closer to the immediate perimeter of the unfinished landmark.
The cathedral restoration has been paused since August last year due to a significant estimated funding shortfall of between $75-85 million.
A CCRL spokesperson said the trust was supportive of the city council staff proposal.
'We appreciate the importance of Cathedral Square for events and to improve amenities.'
Any movement of the fence boundary would only be for the duration of the construction pause, the spokesperson said.
'Once construction recommences, we would need the space back. The council is aware of that in shaping the proposal.'
The Christ Church Cathedral boundary fence seen from Tūranga. Photo: File image
Halswell Ward city councillor Andrei Moore, who holds the arts and creative industries portfolio, wants staff to find a way forward as soon as possible.
'If council can't get a fence moved, it doesn't say much about the effectiveness of the organisation as a whole,' he said.
Moore believes the extra space would encourage more frequent and larger music events in the square, which has become increasingly popular for promoters.
'This area doesn't have to remain lifeless while the restoration is paused. We need to welcome that life and remove any barriers in the way,' he said.
City council strategy, planning and regulatory services general manager John Higgins said councillors will be briefed on the proposal in July and a direction will be sought on the next steps.
Ticketed events in the square have included drum and bass artists and other DJ acts.
The popular Urban Jungle show by promoter SUB180 and a gig with top British DJ Andy C by promoter Cream were held in the square in February and March last year respectively.
Last month promoter Audiology hosted two DJ shows in the square.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
18 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Trade on agenda as Trump lands in Scotland for diplomacy and golf
Trump is also due to meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the trip. US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One bound for Scotland. Photo / Getty Images He said the meeting would be 'more of a celebration than a workout', appearing to row back on previous comments that a bilateral trade deal struck in May needed 'fine tuning'. 'The deal is concluded,' he told reporters on the tarmac at Prestwick. But the unpredictable American leader appeared unwilling to cede to a UK request for reduced steel and aluminium tariffs. Trump has exempted British exports from blanket 50% tariffs on both metals, but the fate of that carve-out remains unclear. 'If I do it for one, I have to do it for all,' Trump said in Washington before embarking on his flight, when asked if he had any 'wiggle room' for the UK on the issue. The international outcry over the conflict in Gaza may also be on the agenda, as Starmer faces growing pressure to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and announce that Britain will also recognise a Palestinian state. Protests Trump is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit – his second – at the invitation of King Charles III, which promises to be lavish. During a 2023 visit, Trump said he felt at home in Scotland, where his mother Mary Anne MacLeod grew up on the remote Isle of Lewis before emigrating to the United States at age 18. 'He's original, he does things the way he wants to. I think a lot of our politicians could take a good leaf out of his book,' 45-year-old Trump fan Lisa Hart told AFP as she waited to see his plane touch down. But the affection between Trump and Scotland is not always mutual. In this photo from February 2000, Donald Trump (left) – a real estate developer at the time – and his future wife, former model Melania Knauss, financier Jeffrey Epstein (now deceased) and Ghislaine Maxwell pose at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. Epstein and Maxwell were in later years convicted of sex trafficking offences. Photo / Getty Images Residents, environmentalists and elected officials have voiced discontent over the Trump family's construction of a new golf course, which he is expected to open before he departs the UK on Tuesday. Police Scotland, which is bracing for mass protests in Edinburgh and Aberdeen as well as close to Trump's golf courses, have said there will be a 'significant operation across the country over many days'. Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who will also meet Trump during the visit, said the nation 'shares a strong friendship with the United States that goes back centuries'. Trump has also stepped into the sensitive debate in the UK about green energy and reaching net zero, with Aberdeen being the heart of Scotland's oil industry. In May, he wrote on his Truth Social platform that the UK should 'stop with the costly and unsightly windmills' as he urged incentivising drilling for oil in the North Sea. US discontent The trip to Scotland puts physical distance between Trump and the latest twists in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier accused of sex trafficking who died in prison in 2019 before facing trial. In his heyday, Epstein was friends with Trump and others in the New York jet-set, but the President is now facing backlash from his own Maga supporters who demand access to the Epstein case files. Many support a conspiracy theory under which 'deep state' elites protected rich and famous people who took part in an Epstein sex ring. But Trump is urging his supporters to move on from the case. The Wall Street Journal, which published an article detailing longstanding links between Trump and the sex offender, is being punished by the White House. Its reporting team plan to travel to Scotland on their own and join the White House press pool but it has now been denied a seat on Air Force One for the flight home. While Trump's family has undertaken many development projects worldwide, the President no longer legally controls the family holdings. However, opponents and watchdog groups have accused him of having many conflicts of interest and using his position as US President to promote private family investments, especially abroad. – Agence France-Presse
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Britain and India sign free trade pact during Modi visit
By Alistair Smout and Manoj Kuma , Reuters Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File photo) Photo: Kabir Jhangiani / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP Britain and India signed a free trade agreement on Thursday during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sealing a deal to cut tariffs on goods from textiles to whisky and cars and allow more market access for businesses. Talks on the trade pact were concluded in May after three years of stop-start negotiations, with both sides hastening efforts to clinch a deal in the shadow of tariff turmoil unleashed by US President Donald Trump. The agreement between the world's fifth and sixth largest economies aims to increase bilateral trade by a further 25.5 billion pounds by 2040. It is Britain's biggest trade deal since it left the European Union in 2020 but its impact will be a fraction of the effect of leaving the orbit of its closest trading partner. It is India's biggest strategic partnership with an advanced economy, and it could provide a template for a long-mooted deal with the EU and for talks with other regions. Both sides hailed as historic a deal which will take effect following a ratification process, likely within a year, after which firms such as whisky distiller Diageo and carmakers including BMW, Nissan, Aston Martin and Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover could benefit from lower duties. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there would be huge benefits for both countries, making trade cheaper, quicker and easier. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: STEPHANIE LECOCQ / AFP "We've entered a new global era, and that is one that requires us to step up, not to stand aside... by building deeper partnerships and alliances," Starmer said in a statement next to Modi at his Chequers country residence. Modi called the agreement "a blueprint for our shared prosperity," highlighting how Indian goods from textiles to jewelry and seafood would secure better market access. The countries also agreed a partnership covering areas such as defence and climate, and aim to strengthen co-operation on tackling crime. Modi spent nearly three hours with Starmer before going to meet King Charles at his Sandringham Estate. Under the trade agreement, tariffs on Scotch whisky will drop to 75 percent from 150 percent immediately, and slide to 40 percent over the next decade. Tariffs on drinks such as brandy and rum will be cut to 110 percent initially and end up at 75 percent. On cars, India will cut duties to 10 percent within five years from current levels of up to 11 percent under a quota system that will be gradually liberalised. In return, Indian manufacturers will gain access to the British market for electric and hybrid vehicles, also under a quota system. Under the deal, 99 percent of Indian exports to Britain will benefit from zero duties, including textiles, and Britain will have reductions on 90 percent of its tariff lines, with the average tariff UK firms face dropping to 3 percent from 15 percent. But the projected boost to British economic output, of 4.8 billion pounds a year by 2040, is small compared to Britain's gross domestic product of 2.6 trillion pounds in 2024. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast that UK exports and imports will be about 15 percent lower in the long run than if Britain had stayed in the EU. Britain's Labour government, in power for a year, has launched a reset of ties with the EU to smooth trade friction and won some tariff relief from the United States. "In an era of rising protectionism, today's announcement sends a powerful signal," said Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry. The Confederation of Indian Industry called it a "strong foundation for deeper market access." The deal will facilitate easier access for temporary business visitors although visas are not covered. The sides also agreed that workers will no longer have to make social security contributions in both India and Britain while on temporary postings to the other. British firms will be able to access India's procurement market for projects in sectors such as clean energy, and the trade deal also covers services sectors such as insurance. India did not manage to secure an exemption from Britain's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism - which could levy higher taxes on polluters from 2027 - as part of the deal. - Reuters
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
Food delivery firms and UK Home Office combine against migrants working illegally in gig economy
Asylum hotel locations are to be shared by the Home Office with food delivery companies to combat illegal working by asylum-seekers. The British government department has struck a new agreement with Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats, under which officials share details about hotels in high-risk areas to enable the
