Cathedral spire demolition begins

10:15 am on 23 April 2012

Demolition of what remains of the spire of Christchurch's cathedral is beginning on Monday, as work continues to remove all but two or three metres of the earthquake-damaged building.

The Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, Victoria Matthews, says the demolition of the remainder of the spire should come as no surprise to anybody who has seen how badly damaged it is.

She says part of the spire is with the museum and one of the four walls of the tower was removed to enable rescuers to search for bodies following last year's February earthquake.

Bishop Matthews has agreed to meet a group opposed to the demolition, after members protested outside a meeting she chaired at the weekend.

She says it is silly for the two sides to continue to talk past each other.

On Sunday, the start of work on a 700-seat temporary cardboard cathedral in Latimer Square was marked with a blessing of the site.

The church has yet to come up with a plan to rebuild a permanent replacement.