St Mary’s Merivale Undergoes Partial Demolition

10 Jan 2012

Demolition work began on Tuesday, 10 January, following receipt of the notice on 6 January. A plan for partial demolition of St Mary’s Church was submitted to CERA before works could begin.

The southern face of St Mary’s appears to have borne the brunt of the latest quakes and was in imminent danger of collapse, posing a hazard to a large electrical transformer and neighbouring properties.

The tower at the northwest corner was also deemed to be a significant hazard, requiring urgent demolition. It had tilted further toward Church Lane, showing a large vertical crack rising from its base separating it from the church, as well as two large horizontal cracks higher up.

CERA and Church Property Trustees have both considered the advice of engineers, Christchurch City Council Heritage, and the Historic Places Trust. Efforts are being made to retrieve heritage items, subject to the overriding requirement for the safety of contract workers.