CERA (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority) has released a city blueprint outlining that they will be seizing Ministry NightClub, demolishing it, and constructing a new bus exchange in its place. Its demise is not the result of quake damage – the choice to demolish is not safety related. Rather, this is a case of over-zealous “forward thinking” and a planning process that has not consulted the people of Christchurch apart from rugby players and conservative old-money families
Even before reconstruction work has started, the engineering assesSment of the building places it at 36% of building code, which means even now it is NOT classed as “quake prone”. The building was strengthened back in 1992 when first built, and was damaged mainly by the collapse of the next-door building on top of it
The demands of the planned bus exchange are in all likelihood years away, and they could still go ahead without the narrow strip of land down one side that is occupied by Ministry
Bruce Williamson designed, built and ran Ministry as a labour of love in Lichfield St for more than twenty years. Despite the damage sustained by the quake, the main floor was still salvagable. In fact, Williamson had been working on rebuild plans for the venue for some time and had already lodged a consent for its rebuild, retaining the existing main room but with capacity increased to 1000 in that room and 1350 people on the entire site
Anyone who attended an event at Ministry will understand what it represents to the Christchurch music scene and what is at stake. Sign and share this petition. Show CERA that Christchurch bassheads are citizens too. YOU deserve to have a say about what is to remain when the new city is built!
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