chch.live a suburb, in depth

Ilam, Christchurch

5,632 council reports since June 2015, the 22nd busiest suburb in the city. 4,378 photographs on record. 10,730 people at the 2023 Census, 2,789 to the square kilometre across 3.8 km².

Reports, all time
5,632
In the year to 12 Oct 2026
882
Busiest in Christchurch
22nd
Photographs
4,378

The record also holds about $548 a week to rent 2023 Census snapshot 4,378 photographs 12 old photographs 3 schools 7 parks 4 places of worship 30 tracks 14 names on the map 1.8% of the outline mapped liquefied the record drew water over 0% of the outline ecological sites over 1% of the outline landscape schedules over 1% of the outline noise overlays over the whole outline setback strips over 3% of the outline 18% of the outline inside the plan’s density overlays 1,304 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground 21.1 km of cycleway crosses the outline 13 drawn rules bind this ground 6 parcels on the dangerous-work register 107 parcels of made ground 1 parcels with a cleanup on file the 2019 model grades this ground mostly possible 10 council structures on the register 8 recreation register records 2,439 trees on the register the plan’s word on this ground 3% of the outline reserved the plan’s exceptions touch 30% of the outline 16 places on the heritage schedule 1 epicentre inside the outline 313 injury crashes 3,373 recorded victimisations 38 bus stops 93 businesses the council’s fix times alcohol ban over most of the outline 15 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

$548/week middle half $413–$657

New bonds here ran at about $548 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $413 and $657, across 90 bonds lodged, up 7% on a year ago. That’s in line with the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the Ilam North, Ilam South and Ilam University areas combined, approximately this suburb.

By dwelling type and bedrooms, April–June 2026 quarter
  • 1-bedroom house, $595 a week · 42 new bonds
  • 4-bedroom house, $594 a week · 12 new bonds
  • 3-bedroom house, $600 a week · 6 new bonds
  • room in a shared house, $210 a week · 6 new bonds
  • 5+-bedroom house, $240 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 2% of it; the flood record drew water over 0% of it, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.

Day to day it holds 3 schools, 7 parks, 4 places of worship, 30 tracks and 38 bus stops, each is counted further down.

Lately the record’s mostly roads & footpaths, 882 reports in the year to 12 October 2026, the newest 10 October 2026.

One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 25 November 2023, 23 reports in a single day.

2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here

People
10,224
Under 15
10%
65 and over
10%
Occupied households
2,673

About 10,224 people and 2,673 occupied private households in the “Ilam North”, “Ilam South” and “Ilam University” areas, grouped from 55 SA1 areas. Several statistical areas are combined here, so this is a grouped proxy rather than a count for one suburb boundary.

More of the 2023 Census
  • Born overseas36% of stated birthplace
  • European ethnicity69% of ethnicity responses
  • Māori ethnicity7% of ethnicity responses
  • Pacific Peoples ethnicity3% of ethnicity responses
  • Asian ethnicity27% of ethnicity responses

Ethnicity is a multiple-response measure, so those percentages are not meant to add to 100%.

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

Ilam is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, about five kilometres west of the city centre. It is the location of the University of Canterbury.

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

As reported 4,378 on record

6 Ilkley Place, Ilam128 Waimairi Road, Ilam12 Tripp Place, Ilam95 Maidstone Rd121 Hamilton Ave51A Memorial Ave 4,378 photographs
on the wall →

The suburb, back then 12 in the archive

Ilam House, Riccarton, 1896Canterbury University Ilam campus, 2004Ilam the house taken in Christchurch by His Excellency the Governor and the Countess of Glasgow, 1893Ilam house - homestead (c1938) (PB0905/7), 1938Ilam Homestead (PB0904/3), 1939Looking SSE over Ilam Homestead (pre-1940) to R... (PB0904/2), 1939Ilam, Christchurch, showing the University of Canterbury, with the Faculty of Science buildings under construction, 1964Ilam, Christchurch, showing the University of Canterbury, with the Faculty of Science buildings under construction, 1964Ilam, Christchurch, showing part of the University of Canterbury campus, 1974University of Canterbury, Ilam, Christchurch, 1974 12 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 Ilam

Lately the newest reports

Accessibility, a report photo
Accessibility6 Ilkley Place

on my week end walk, this van, blocking footpath with cable, electricity, looks like illegal camper?, worker?next to building site, has been there, all this…

Reports per year up 11% 2024→2025

What gets reported

Roads & footpaths 1,543
Rubbish & dumping 1,164
Water & drains 1,031
Graffiti & vandalism 773
Trees & parks 747
Vehicles & parking 243
Everything else 103
Animals & pests 20 Noise 8

Streets that keep coming up each a street page

Every street the archive knows in Ilam →

Exactly what people say

How fast the council fixes things here 9,758 finished jobs on record

The median council work order pinned in Ilam took 5 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. 235 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 23 March 2019.

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 one ban zone reaches in

Riccarton-Ilam. A public drinking ban, at all times, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, covers most of Ilam.

5 sensitive sites stand here, Ilam School, Medbury Preparatory School, Tuia Burnside Primary School, University of Canterbury, Westburn Te Kura O Hereora, 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 3

Zoned for Burnside High School · Christ The King School (Burnside) · Christchurch Adventist School · Marian College · Middleton Grange School · St Bede's College · and 14 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 7

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.

Where the suburb worships 4

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 30

The first eight of 30, 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 14

The February 2011 survey drew mapped ground failure over 1.8% of this outline, about 7 hectares. A patch is a footprint, not a finding about an address; the count for the whole city is at /liquefaction.

The flood record drew water over 0.3% of this outline, across 1 named event. A patch is one event’s observation, not a live hazard finding; the whole record is drawn at /floods.

6 parcels inside this outline sit on the hazardous-activities register, mostly chemical manufacture, application and bulk storage, vehicle refuelling, service and repair, 3 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.

The files record 107 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, about 11 hectares, mostly engineered fill, gravel, topsoil. A record is the file’s word on what was laid, not a fresh survey; the whole layer is drawn at /fill.

1 parcel inside this outline carries a cleanup on the file. 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 56% 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 10 assets on this ground, 5 sets of steps, 2 ramps, 2 jetties, 1 bridge, sited at Waimairi Community Centre, Corfe Reserve, Upper Riccarton Domain. 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 8 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 3 cricket, 3 football, 1 basketball, 1 ultimate frisbee. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.

The register counts 2,439 living trees inside this outline, 42 veterans among them, 32 carrying a protection, mostly Sweet Gum, Flowering Cherry, Yoshino Cherry. The file remembers 1,204 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 40% of this outline under Residential Suburban, 58% residential, the rest mostly Specific Purpose (Tertiary Education) 21%, Medium density residential zone 18%. 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 13 hectares of this outline, 3%, under 3 designations, mostly learning. 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 30% of this outline, 15 qualifying matters, mostly utilities, heritage. 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 16 places by name in this suburb, 10 graded highly significant, College House Accommodation Block (North) Rymer, Chichele, Watts Russell and Setting, College House Accommodation Block (South) Stanford, Carrington, Milford, Parr, Warren and Setting, College House Chapel and Setting 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 ecological schedules cover 1% of this outline across 1 scheduled site, 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 1% of this outline across 1 scheduled area. Shares read from a sampled join; a protection overlay, not a ranking of views. The kept view is drawn at /landscape.

No high-hazard flood area covers this outline. The broader flood-management watch covers 20% of it, Avon 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 all of this outline, about 385 hectares across 5 mapped overlays, 44% 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, 102 classified reaches, the plan calling Waimairi Stream and Avon River by name, 3% of it inside the setback strips, the widest holding 10 m off the bank. 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, 18% of it inside the residential overlays, the densest standing Suburban Density Transition. 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 1,304 photographs on this ground, 2010–2014, 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, 21.1 km of cycleway crosses the outline, 5.2 km of it separated from the traffic, Nor'West Arc, Uni-Cycle. A segment counts under every suburb its path enters; the whole network is drawn at /cycleways.

The rulebook binds this ground, 13 drawn instruments, 1 alcohol ban, 12 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 M3.1 in 2011. 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 313 injury crashes

313 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Ilam's outline, 2 people killed, 45 seriously hurt.

The corner that keeps appearing: Memorial Avenue at Ilam Road, 16 injury crashes.

the suburb’s crashes on the map →

The crime record 3,373 recorded victimisations

3,373 victimisations on the Police record inside Ilam’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 82 a year per 1,000 residents. Up 13% 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 38 stops

38 Metro stops inside Ilam's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 130, route 3, route 100, route 29, route 120, the Orbiter (anticlockwise), the Orbiter (clockwise).

Every route in the record →

Businesses here 93 in the directory

93 premises in Ilam across 41 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. College House Accommodation Block (North) Rymer, Chichele, Watts Russell and Setting
  2. College House Accommodation Block (South) Stanford, Carrington, Milford, Parr, Warren and Setting100A Waimairi Road
  3. College House Chapel and Setting100C Waimairi Road
  4. College House Courtyard and setting100A Waimairi Road
  5. College House Kitchen, Dining Hall, Office, Common Room, Study Centre, Foyer, Accommodation Block and Setting100 Waimairi Road
  6. College House Library and Setting100B Waimairi Road
  7. College House Principal's Lodge and Setting
  8. Dwelling and Setting83 Clyde Road
  9. Dwelling and Setting
  10. Dwelling and Setting, Colwell46 Memorial Avenue
  11. Dwelling and Setting, Hatherley19 Gleneagles Terrace
  12. Former Dwelling and Setting, Ilam87 Ilam Road
  13. Former Dwelling and Setting, Okeover
  14. Former Fendalton Open Air School Classroom and Setting
  15. Former Ilam Gardens

The register’s own page for Ilam →

Documents 40

What the archive’s sources say about Ilam, 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.

Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 26 July 1851)…ate that hii works in ditch and bank fencing may be seen at messrs deans riccarton and at ilam the estate of j c w russell esq cob-building c at c e bridge esq heathcote river and he feels great pleas…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 3 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 11 December 1852)…an acre of garden land fenced in and under cultivation apply to mr prichard christchurch ilam house to be let for a period of nine months from the first day of january next ham house london street ly…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 25 December 1852)ilam house to be let for a period of nine months from the first day of january next ham house london street ly…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 01 January 1853)…enced in with good well attached for further particulars apply to mr lcngden norwich quay ilam house to be let for a period of six nine or twelve months ham house london street lyttelton for particula…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 15 January 1853)…enced in with good well attached for further particulars apply to mr longden norwich quay ilam house rpo be let for a period of six nine or twelve months ilam house london street lyttelton for particu…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 22 January 1853)…enced in with good well attached for further particulars apply to mr longden norwich quay ilam house to be let for a period of six nine or twelve months ham house london street lyttelton for particula…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 29 January 1853)…enced in with good well attached for further particulars apply to mr longden norwich quay ilam house to be let for a period of six nine or twelve months ham house london street lyttelton for particula…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 12 February 1853)…risiichurcll a one-roomed cottage and a v hut apply at g gould general store christchuich ilam house to be let for a period of six nine or twelve months ham house london street lyttelton for particula…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 27 May 1854)…company first class rams price 4 each apply to messrs cookson and co or j c w russell esq ilam ex balnaguith iutens womens and children boots l and shoes and to arrive per next ship 6 crates of crocke…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 3 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 03 June 1854)…ompany first class earns price 4 each apply to messrs qookson and co or j c w russell esq ilam working bullocks on sale by the undersigned 1o fust-rate bullocks all fi-9 perfectly quiet also a strong…Lyttelton 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 Ilam 5 lately

desid spiders seen — Ilam, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · seamusmoran ·
Something seen — Ilam, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · seamusmoran ·
Flower Spiders seen — Clyde Rd near Hinau St, Ilam, Christchurch 8041, New ZealandiNaturalist · alekscz ·
Barn Funnel Weaver seen — Grahams Rd near Powell Cres, Ilam, Christchurch 8041, New ZealandiNaturalist · christiannezakour ·
Western Earwig seen — Creyke Rd, Ilam, Christchurch 8041, New ZealandiNaturalist · georgecox ·

The whole wire →

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

Next door

Upper RiccartonAvonheadBurnsideFendaltonSockburnBryndwr

Compare Ilam with Upper Riccarton · Avonhead · Burnside · Fendalton · Sockburn · Bryndwr, same record, side by side.

Questions, answered briefly

What is Ilam?

Ilam is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, about five kilometres west of the city centre. The public record holds 5,632 council reports for it, the first filed in June 2015.

How many people live in Ilam?

10,730 people at the 2023 Census, 2,789 per square kilometre across 3.8 km².

How many people does the 2023 Census count for Ilam?

About 10,224 people and 2,673 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 Ilam?

5,632 reports on record, most often roads & footpaths (1,543), rubbish & dumping (1,164), water & drains (1,031). 882 of them in the year to 12 October 2026.

How many crashes has Ilam had?

313 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 2 people killed, 45 seriously hurt. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →

Did earthquakes strike under Ilam?

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 1 magnitude-3+ epicentre inside the suburb’s mapped outline since the September 2010 mainshock, the biggest a M3.1 in 2011. 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 →