Hallelujah. It's been an embarrassment the way they let it get overgrown like that. Feels like a bit of Mana has returned to the CBD now that it's been cleaned up. Thanks for the photos! 

Last time I was there (I live in ChCh) was to go to the floors of our building in the Square to get personal effects for our staff. (found my CERA badge the other day)  Circa July 2011. As the June EQ had already hit

Its SHOCKING. Pay me $1 per hour I would have helped keep it weed free. 

From a purely aesthetic POV, those weeds had something going for them.

Now those phenomenally expensive - but plain drab grey - imported Italian pavers that Council paid many millions for about 20 years ago are exposed again, it reminds me that regardless of partisan divisions in local politics - we're doomed to having idiots running the show.

Might have to go for a look at the weekend?

I assume the link to heaven isn't yet UFB or is operated by the cheapest ISP :-)

Fred99:

 

From a purely aesthetic POV, those weeds had something going for them.

 

Now those phenomenally expensive - but plain drab grey - imported Italian pavers that Council paid many millions for about 20 years ago are exposed again, it reminds me that regardless of partisan divisions in local politics - we're doomed to having idiots running the show.

 

Maybey but you do know the church was responsible for cleaning up their own mess...

I wonder if they had all these problems back then the tower fell after the last big earthquake in Christchurch, and  it was rebuilt. Whether they should have rebuilt it out of timber. Guessing the rebuilt one will have a steel or reinforced concrete structure.

Tinkerisk:

 

I assume the link to heaven isn't yet UFB or is operated by the cheapest ISP :-)

 

You'd expect them to see the "light"

mattwnz:

 

I wonder if they had all these problems back then the tower fell after the last big earthquake in Christchurch, and  it was rebuilt. Whether they should have rebuilt it out of timber. Guessing the rebuilt one will have a steel or reinforced concrete structure.

 

You mean way back? Either way, its a sad issue. Its an icon for us, many places have icons, but all this drama is poor. However, I live in ChCh Im not losing any sleep over it. I'd rather bag ChCh people who go on and on and on about the EQ here. Its been and gone. I did that last week on Neighbourly, cant be bothered checking the backlash. People need to move on 

Geektastic: I'm in Japan right now, which has had a fair few earthquakes in the same period.
You'd never know.

Pretty sure that no neo gothic cathedral made from unreinforced stone masonry has ever been munted in a Japanese EQ.  

Getting rid of the gorse and other weeds at the Cathedral is a lot easier than dealing with the other eyesores around the Square.  The old Noah's hotel is still sitting there as are the row of shops next to Noahs, not to mention the building that used to have Starbucks and the tourist information centre.  Crazy that these were not demolished years ago.

Japan it seems does do earthquake recovery much better.

nunz: Unfortunately every move the Anglicans have made have had some idiot block them and tie them up in litigation costing literally millions.

They had plans and a go ahead approval from members in 2012 or early 2013. Blame the wizard, philip burdon and aaron keown for that mess as well as all their minority of followers who have committed tax payers to millions of dollars when the Anglicans wanted to move forward with a plan inside the insurance payout budget

this