chch.live a suburb, in depth

Belfast, Christchurch

2,993 council reports since June 2015, the 49th busiest suburb in the city. 2,311 photographs on record. 5,280 people at the 2023 Census, 517 to the square kilometre across 10 km².

Reports, all time
2,993
In the year to 12 Oct 2026
536
Busiest in Christchurch
49th
Photographs
2,311

The record also holds about $610 a week to rent 2023 Census snapshot 2,311 photographs 59 old photographs 2 schools 10 parks 2 civic facilities 2 places of worship 6 tracks 8 names on the map 7.0% of the outline mapped liquefied graded mostly TC2 in 2011 the record drew water over 11% of the outline the Ngāi Tahu schedule covers 1% of the outline ecological sites over 3% of the outline landscape schedules over 5% of the outline high flood hazard over 9% of the outline noise overlays over 56% of the outline setback strips over 14% of the outline 10% of the outline inside the plan’s density overlays 420 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground 14.6 km of cycleway crosses the outline 8 remembered names on this ground 7 drawn rules bind this ground 19 parcels on the dangerous-work register 198 parcels of made ground 6 parcels with a cleanup on file the 2019 model grades this ground mostly possible 27 council structures on the register 40 recreation register records 2,571 trees on the register the plan’s word on this ground 9% of the outline reserved the plan’s exceptions touch 2% of the outline 6 places on the heritage schedule 1 epicentre inside the outline 247 injury crashes 1,393 recorded victimisations 25 bus stops 68 businesses the council’s fix times 7 heritage places 40 documents 5 mentions on the wire

See it on the map Its decade, charted

Living here rent · the ground · the day-to-day

$610/week middle half $572–$634

New bonds here ran at about $610 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $572 and $634, across 21 bonds lodged: flat on a year ago. That’s about $60 a week above the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the Belfast West and Belfast East areas combined, approximately this suburb.

By dwelling type and bedrooms, April–June 2026 quarter
  • 1-bedroom house, $618 a week · 18 new bonds
  • 3-bedroom house, $655 a week · 6 new bonds

Median and quartiles of weekly rents on new private bonds, by quarter; suburb figures are a bond-weighted blend of the areas. New bonds are fresh lodgements, not the whole rental stock; under five bonds the rent is withheld, and counts are randomly rounded. Source: Tenancy Services rental bond data: provisional while the bond system migrates.

The ground: the February 2011 survey drew liquefaction over 7% of it; the 2011 grading filed it mostly TC2, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.

Day to day it holds 2 schools, 10 parks, 2 civic facilities, 2 places of worship, 6 tracks and 25 bus stops, each is counted further down.

Lately the record’s mostly trees & parks, 536 reports in the year to 12 October 2026, the newest 11 October 2026.

One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 22 July 2020, 16 reports in a single day.

2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here

People
4,860
Occupied households
1,905

About 4,860 people and 1,905 occupied private households in the “Marshland”, “Belfast East” and “Belfast West” areas, grouped from 34 SA1 areas. Several statistical areas are combined here, so this is a grouped proxy rather than a count for one suburb boundary.

Stats NZ’s 2023 Census uses fixed random rounding to base 3. Unavailable or confidential cells are left out, not treated as zero. individuals · households · geography · CC BY 4.0.

About the suburb

Belfast is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is in the north of the city 10 km (6.2 mi) from Cathedral Square, close to the banks of the Waimakariri River.

the encyclopaedia’s version · Wikipedia · population: Stats NZ 2023 Census SA2 counts; the area is measured from the suburb outline

As reported 2,311 on record

130R Johns Road, Belfast266 Radcliffe Rd697 Main North Road, Belfast4 Bellewood Avenue, BelfastHighway 74697 Main North Road, Belfast 2,311 photographs
on the wall →

The suburb, back then 59 in the archive

St David's Church, Belfast, Christchurch, 1900St David's Church, Belfast, Christchurch, 1900St David’s Anglican Church exterior, 1900St David’s Anglican Church interior, 1900Belfast Bridge Inn, 1870Kaputone Wool Works, Belfast, 1890Freezing works, Belfast, 1896Belfast Church of England Jubilee Fair, 1900Belfast Church of England Jubilee Fair, 1900Belfast Drum & Fife Band, 1900 59 photographs
from back when →

Placed by the record’s locality join or the name in its own title, a lead, not a claim each frame stood here.

The record on Belfast

Lately the newest reports

Reports per year up 12% 2024→2025

What gets reported

Trees & parks 719
Roads & footpaths 701
Graffiti & vandalism 537
Rubbish & dumping 485
Water & drains 321
Everything else 103
Vehicles & parking 79
Animals & pests 42 Noise 6

Streets that keep coming up each a street page

Every street the archive knows in Belfast →

Exactly what people say

How fast the council fixes things here 5,720 finished jobs on record

The median council work order pinned in Belfast took 4 days to resolve, the city-wide median is 3 days, so this ground runs slower than the city as a whole. The slowest tenth waited 3 months or longer. 181 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 9 December 2021.

Work orders, not the resident reports above, the council’s MyCouncilTicket stream, and one job can appear in both. A median counts only finished jobs; open ones are named as open, never averaged in. The ticket roll · the whole city’s fix times.

Alcohol rules on this ground

2 sensitive sites stand here, Pītau-Allenvale School, Pūtahi Belfast School, and the Local Alcohol Policy restricts new off-licences within 200 m of them.

The council’s bylaw zones and the Local Alcohol Policy’s buffer list, read from the Regulatory open-data service. A ban rules drinking in public places; it says nothing about whether a premises may sell, that is the licence register’s job.

The suburb today

Schools here 2

Zoned for Christchurch Adventist School · Emmanuel Christian School · Marian College · Middleton Grange School · Papanui High School · Pūtahi Belfast School · and 7 more zones, the drawn zone is indicative; the Ministry’s written scheme is the legal boundary.

Decile and EQI describe the community a school draws from, not how well it teaches.

The green here 10

The first eight of 10, Parks and reserves in the council’s open data, a park lands in the suburb its centre falls inside. The whole roll is at /parks.

The civic shelf 2

Libraries, halls, cemeteries and the rest in the council’s open data, a facility lands in the suburb its point or centre falls inside. The whole shelf is at /facilities.

Where the suburb worships 2

Places of worship in the open map’s record, one lands in the suburb its building stands in. The whole roll is at /worship.

The tracks through here 6

Tracks in the council’s open data, a line belongs to every suburb it passes through. The whole network is at /tracks.

The names on this ground 8

The February 2011 survey drew mapped ground failure over 7.0% of this outline, about 71 hectares. A patch is a footprint, not a finding about an address; the count for the whole city is at /liquefaction.

The 2011 grading filed 12.9% of this outline, about 132 hectares, mostly TC2. A graded area files under the suburb its middle sits in, and a category is a verdict for a patch of ground, not a finding about an address; the grades are drawn at /technical-categories.

The flood record drew water over 10.8% of this outline, about 110 hectares, across 2 named events. A patch is one event’s observation, not a live hazard finding; the whole record is drawn at /floods.

19 parcels inside this outline sit on the hazardous-activities register, mostly chemical manufacture, application and bulk storage, vehicle refuelling, service and repair, mineral extraction, refining and reprocessing, storage and use, 12 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.

The files record 198 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, about 116 hectares, mostly engineered fill, silt, peat, 5 carry fill the file can’t vouch for. A record is the file’s word on what was laid, not a fresh survey; the whole layer is drawn at /fill.

6 parcels inside this outline carry a cleanup on the file, 1 marked verified. A cleanup on the file is the register’s word, not a clearance; the whole register is drawn at /remediated.

The 2019 liquefaction study put 100% of this outline in the possible class. A class is the model’s verdict on a patch of ground, not a finding about an address; the whole study is drawn at /vulnerability.

The council’s structure register stands 27 assets on this ground, 15 bridges, 5 ramps, 3 shelters, 2 sets of steps, sited at Groynes, Sheldon Park, Ouruhia Reserve, Te Waoku Kahikatea. The register’s site names are its own labels for the ground an asset stands in; the layer is drawn at the map.

The recreation register keeps 40 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 10 touch rugby, 5 rugby, 4 netball, 2 cricket and 15 pieces of dog-agility gear. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.

The register counts 2,571 living trees inside this outline, 29 veterans among them, 117 carrying a protection, mostly Kowhai, Flowering Cherry, Silver Birch. The file remembers 620 trees felled here. A tree record is the register’s word on what stands or stood; the whole canopy is drawn at /trees.

The plan files 26% of this outline under Rural Urban Fringe, 27% residential, the rest mostly Rural Waimakariri 12%, Residential New Neighbourhood 12%. A zone is a permission, not a description, the mix is read from a sampled join of the plan’s polygons; the whole district is drawn at /zones.

The plan reserves about 96 hectares of this outline, 9%, under 9 designations, mostly movement. A designation is a claim on the ground, not a build date, the mix is read from a sampled join; the whole register is drawn at /designations.

The plan’s exceptions touch 2% of this outline, 3 qualifying matters, mostly section 6, infrastructure. A matter narrows how the density rule applies, it does not forbid; the mix is read from a sampled join, and the cultural-significance areas are the plan’s own unnamed ones. The whole register is drawn at /matters.

The plan’s heritage schedule protects 6 places by name in this suburb, 2 graded highly significant, Dwelling and Setting, Spring Grove, St David's Church and Setting, Commercial building and Setting, Scanes Store among them. A setting is the ground the item stands in, each files under the suburb holding its centroid; the whole schedule is at /heritage.

The plan’s schedule of sites significant to Ngāi Tahu covers 1% of this outline, about 15 hectares, ngā wai. A silent-file precinct covers 55% of it besides, sensitive ground the plan flags without naming the sites. Shares read from a sampled join; a recognition overlay, not a catalogue. The whole schedule is drawn at /cultural.

The plan’s ecological schedules cover 3% of this outline, about 29 hectares across 3 scheduled sites, all protected under Schedule A. Shares read from a sampled join; a recognition overlay, not a survey. The whole ledger is drawn at /ecology.

The plan’s landscape schedules cover 5% of this outline, about 51 hectares across 3 scheduled areas, 1% of it outstanding, the plan’s strongest landscape standing. Shares read from a sampled join; a protection overlay, not a ranking of views. The kept view is drawn at /landscape.

The plan’s flood map draws 9% of this outline inside high flood hazard ground, about 96 hectares across 3 mapped areas. The broader flood-management watch covers 11% of it, Lower Styx River. Shares read from a sampled join; a model’s map, not a promise. The waiting water is drawn at /flood-hazard.

The plan’s noise overlays cover 56% of this outline, about 573 hectares across 2 mapped overlays, 2% of it inside the airport’s air-noise contours, where the 55 dB line bites, and inside the airport’s bird-strike buffer. Shares read from a sampled join; a planning line, not a meter’s reading. The quiet lines are drawn at /noise.

The plan’s water-margin layers cross this outline, 189 classified reaches, the plan calling Kaputone Creek and Wilsons Drain by name, 14% of it inside the setback strips, the widest holding 30 m off the bank, and an esplanade line holds a public edge here. The margin is the plan’s drawing, not a survey of the bank; the reaches, strips and held edges are mapped at /water-margin.

The plan’s allowed shape holds this outline, 10% of it inside the residential overlays, the densest standing New Neighbourhood. The shape is the plan’s permission, not a survey of what stands; the allowed shape is drawn at /density.

The rebuild’s cameras filed 420 photographs on this ground, 2010–2013, wastewater work mostly. Each frame is a receipt the dig left behind, a work log, not a survey of what stands now; the whole record is drawn at /rebuild.

The pedal network threads this ground, 14.6 km of cycleway crosses the outline, 1.1 km of it separated from the traffic, Northern Line. A segment counts under every suburb its path enters; the whole network is drawn at /cycleways.

The remembered names stand on this ground, 8 inscribed plaques, Belfast Cemetery among the grounds. The plaque is the register’s pin, not a surveyed spot; the whole roll is kept at /plaques.

The rulebook binds this ground, 7 drawn instruments, 4 of them dog rules, 3 bottle-store buffers; the outline sits inside the takiwā of Te Ngai Tuahuriri Runanga. The bylaw is the instrument, this the map of it, the whole rulebook is drawn at /rules.

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 1 magnitude-3+ epicentre inside this outline since the sequence opened, the biggest a M3.4 in 2010. An epicentre is where the instruments placed the break, not a measure of the shaking here; the whole catalogue is counted at /sequence, the live record is /quakes, and the story in plain language is the earthquakes explainer.

The named waterways, bays, headlands, monuments, summits and old sites OpenStreetMap puts inside this outline, a pin is the mapper’s own; a waterway belongs to every suburb it crosses. Every roll, counted: /geography.

The crash record 247 injury crashes

247 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Belfast's outline, 8 people killed, 51 seriously hurt.

The corner that keeps appearing: State Highway 1S at Dickeys Road, 20 injury crashes, 3 fatal.

the suburb’s crashes on the map →

The crime record 1,393 recorded victimisations

1,393 victimisations on the Police record inside Belfast’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 72 a year per 1,000 residents. Down 11% on the year before. Reported is not all, how much never reaches the record depends on the offence.

the suburb on the crime map →

The buses through it 25 stops

25 Metro stops inside Belfast's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 1, route 95, route 107, route 27.

Every route in the record →

Businesses here 68 in the directory

68 premises in Belfast across 34 kinds, from OpenStreetMap, the council’s licensed-premises register and its 2024 Find Christchurch directory. Each kind below opens at this suburb’s shelf.

Among them, the ones the record says most about:

The whole directory →

Before any of that

On the register here

  1. Commercial building and Setting, Scanes Store1 Cassidy Place
  2. Dwelling and Setting663 Main North Road
  3. Dwelling and setting, Belfast School Master's House665 Main North Road
  4. Dwelling and Setting, Spring Grove94 Bill Hammond Drive
  5. Harewood Crematorium, Chapel and Setting509 Johns Road
  6. Kapuatohe Reserve665 Main North Road
  7. St David's Church and Setting831 Main North Road

The register’s own page for Belfast →

Documents 40

What the archive’s sources say about Belfast, titled for it, turned up by a search for one of its places, or carrying its name in the text. These are leads and citations: the originals live at the provider, linked from each row.

THE QUEEN'S SPEECH. (New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, 26 April 1848)…th-regiment mullingar 70th regiment fermoy 73rd regiment depot company birr 74th regiment belfast 75th regiment dublin 77th regiment depot companies nenagh 79ih regiment depot companies mullingar 83rd…New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 6 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 13 January 1858)…wt capital i26976osterling headoffices j london 1 isoorgate street aberdeen 3 king street belfast 42 waring street dundee 16 st andrew jplace edinburgh 20 st andrew square i glasgow 19 st vincent plat…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 6 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 20 January 1858)…ft capitali2s76o sterling head oyjficses london 1 moorgate street jaberdeen 3 king street belfast 42 waring street dundee 16 st andrew place edinburgh 20 st andrew sque glasgow 19 st vincent place coi…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 3 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 12 October 1861)…ffice quebec canad henchan james tinwald downs dumfries scotland hoare mrs 62 ship street belfast ireland jones edward 138 leadenhall street london maffey mr john marlborough wilts england mcleod rode…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
James McNeight WattPortrait of James McNeight Watt who emigrated from Belfast, Ireland and was a partner in the Belfast Meat Factory. Local people and functions…Local people and functions · Canterbury Stories · Christchurch City Libraries ·
Belfast Bridge InnExterior of the Belfast Bridge Inn, with the owner Mr Samuel Treleaven serving a customer. Local scenes and places…Local scenes and places · Canterbury Stories · Christchurch City Libraries ·
MEMORANDA OF TRIE MONIR. (Wellington Independent, 02 June 1870)…ered were about the same time being tried experimentally in ireland to raise the wolfe at belfast nothing could surpass the skill and energy which mr seager had throughout displayed in regard to the v…Wellington Independent · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
MEETING OF THE SURVEYORS' ASSOCIATION. (Daily Southern Cross, 23 March 1871)…ation a meeting of the auckland surveyors association was held yesterday afternoon at the belfast hotel princes-street several letters from professional gentlemen at invercargill otago christchurch we…Daily Southern Cross · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. (Otago Daily Times, 08 May 1871)…caledonian claim working a few feet from them shares are fluctuating between 18s and 403 belfasts 45s to 48s long drives lls otago 30s other claims in proportion all nations are falling dull at l 5 1…Otago Daily Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
BIRTH. (Otago Daily Times, 31 August 1871)…moran agisted by the bey father coleman mr andrew toal to miss mary ann mllhcrron both of belfast ireland death on the 27th july at her residence fcnkdtown near christchurch after a long and painful i…Otago Daily Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held

The rest are a search away, the whole shelf, for the name →

The wire on Belfast 5 lately

Tomoceridae seen — Belfast, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · melwhiting ·
Pūngāwerewere (Spider) seen — Belfast, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · melwhiting ·
Coprinellus seen — Belfast, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · melwhiting ·
Stinking iris seen — Belfast, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · melwhiting ·
Butterflies and Moths seen — Belfast, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · alekscz ·

The whole wire →

84 more documents came up in searches for Belfast's places and have not been read yet, a lead is a search result, not a fact, until somebody reads it.

Next door

NorthwoodCoutts IslandOuruhiaRedwoodCasebrookMarshland

Compare Belfast with Northwood · Coutts Island · Ouruhia · Redwood · Casebrook · Marshland, same record, side by side.

Questions, answered briefly

What is Belfast?

Belfast is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. The public record holds 2,993 council reports for it, the first filed in June 2015.

How many people live in Belfast?

5,280 people at the 2023 Census, 517 per square kilometre across 10 km².

How many people does the 2023 Census count for Belfast?

About 4,860 people and 1,905 occupied private households (combined SA2s): grouped from Stats NZ SA1 areas through this site’s suburb join. Indicative, not a LIM.

What gets reported in Belfast?

2,993 reports on record, most often trees & parks (719), roads & footpaths (701), graffiti & vandalism (537). 536 of them in the year to 12 October 2026.

How many crashes has Belfast had?

247 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 8 people killed, 51 seriously hurt. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →

Did earthquakes strike under Belfast?

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 1 magnitude-3+ epicentre inside the suburb’s mapped outline since the September 2010 mainshock, the biggest a M3.4 in 2010. An epicentre is where the instruments placed the break, not a measure of the shaking felt here. The whole sequence, counted → · The story, in plain language →

Every suburb in Christchurch → · Its decade, charted → · the whole A–Z →