Overgrown Vegetation2 Rhodes St
Triangle of grass has not been mowed for some time, usually done along with the other nearby grass mowed by council. Has become a safety issue as there are now…
Merivale, Christchurch
4,874 council reports since June 2015, the 30th busiest suburb in the city. 3,884 photographs on record. 5,560 people at the 2023 Census, 2,676 to the square kilometre across 2.1 km².
The record also holds about $604 a week to rent· 2023 Census snapshot· 3,884 photographs· 25 old photographs· 6 schools· 6 parks· 5 places of worship· 10 tracks· 6 names on the map· 48.6% of the outline mapped liquefied· graded mostly TC2 in 2011· the record drew water over 7% of the outline· inside a managed flood catchment· noise overlays over the whole outline· setback strips over 4% of the outline· 37% of the outline inside the plan’s density overlays· 1,697 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground· 9.4 km of cycleway crosses the outline· 7 remembered names on this ground· 20 drawn rules bind this ground· 2 parcels on the dangerous-work register· 150 parcels of made ground· the 2019 model grades this ground mostly medium· 13 council structures on the register· 19 recreation register records· 1,195 trees on the register· the plan’s word on this ground· 4% of the outline reserved· the plan’s exceptions touch 1% of the outline· 24 places on the heritage schedule· 284 injury crashes· 1,909 recorded victimisations· 33 bus stops· 192 businesses· the council’s fix times· alcohol ban over 24% of the outline· 33 heritage places· 40 documents· 5 mentions on the wire
Live source links
Link-outs to the source’s own live pages, chch.live does not copy their live values or source text.
Living here rent · the ground · the day-to-day
$604/week
middle half $530–$804
New bonds here ran at about $604 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $530 and $804, across 69 bonds lodged, up 9% on a year ago. That’s about $54 a week above the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the Merivale and Holmwood areas combined, approximately this suburb.
By dwelling type and bedrooms, April–June 2026 quarter
- 1-bedroom house, $612 a week · 39 new bonds
- 3-bedroom house, $935 a week · 15 new bonds
- 2-bedroom house, $593 a week · 12 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 49% of it; the 2011 grading filed it mostly TC2, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.
Day to day it holds 6 schools, 6 parks, 5 places of worship, 10 tracks and 33 bus stops, each is counted further down.
Lately the record’s mostly roads & footpaths, 605 reports in the year to 12 October 2026, the newest 12 October 2026.
One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 19 July 2023, 34 reports in a single day.
2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here
About 5,340 people and 2,217 occupied private households in the “Holmwood” and “Merivale” areas, grouped from 35 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 overseas27% of stated birthplace
- European ethnicity84% of ethnicity responses
- Māori ethnicity5% of ethnicity responses
- Pacific Peoples ethnicity2% of ethnicity responses
- Asian ethnicity14% of ethnicity responses
- Households with internet91% of stated households
- Households with two or more vehicles54% of stated households
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
Merivale is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, north of the city centre. Like all suburbs in Christchurch, it has no defined boundaries and is a general area, but for the purposes of statistical analysis only, Statistics New Zealand defines it as being Heaton Street to the north, Papanui Road to the east, Harper and Bealey Avenues to the south and Rossall Street to the west, although Real Estate advertising often will claim residences outside this area, especially St Albans to the east of Papanui Road, as being Merivale due to the perceived desirability of the area. The area directly west of Rossall Street, which is called Holmwood by Statistics New Zealand, is sometimes considered part
As reported 3,884 on record
The suburb, back then 25 in the archive
Placed by the record’s locality join or the name in its own title, a lead, not a claim each frame stood here.
The shape of it outline © OpenStreetMap · recent reports, pinned
The record on Merivale
- Merivale enters the written record on 16 July 1853, “ELECTORAL ROLL FOR THE DISTRICT OF CHRISTCHURCH, July 5th, 1853. (Lyttelton Times, 16 July 1853)”, Papers Past.
- “Merivale” appears somewhere in 1,469 of the archive’s records, title, description or body.
- A Papers Past search for the name surfaced 30 records, leads by provenance, not by phrase.
- The first report the feed ever carried here: water supply, 9 June 2015, at 33.
- Its busiest day on record was 19 July 2023, 34 reports in a single day.
- The street that keeps coming up is Papanui Road, reported on 444 separate days.
- For elections the suburb’s centre falls inside Fendalton ward, the Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood community board is its local layer. The whole roll is at /wards.
- On foot: The houses the avenues kept, a heritage walk over this ground.
Lately the newest reports
Pavement - General126 Winchester St
Can you request this building company to secure the fencing to this site properly and put something over the damaged footpath so people don’t become injured…
Hazard, vehicle101 Aikmans Rd
This car is parking over our driveway - also, it is a large vehicle parking on a small triangle which is not allowed. Please ticket or tow asap. Thank you
Damaged Street Sign2 Wairarapa Terrace
The arrow sigh indicating the required left turn has come off its post.
Roads - General116 Winchester St
Please ask that traffic management team who had the signs and lights for the replacement power pole on Office road to collect their bag of shingle which they…
Trees - General16 Carlton Mill Rd
Hi, there is a large tree right on the Avon river, outside the apartments at 18 Carlton Mill Road that is slowly dying. Most years large branches are breaking…
Pavement - Damaged80 Rugby St
Please straighten this edging and remove upraised roots and sharp and hazardous timber thank you. The sharp timber could be quite an H&S issue.
Reports per year up 10% 2024→2025
15
44
16
96
17
153
18
204
19
305
20
333
21
525
22
629
23
728
24
651
25
718
What gets reported
Exactly what people say
How fast the council fixes things here 7,903 finished jobs on record
The median council work order pinned in Merivale 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. 192 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 2 October 2018.
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
Merivale. A public drinking ban, seven nights a week from 6pm to 6am, covers about 24% of Merivale.
6 sensitive sites stand here, Elmwood Normal School, Ferndale Te Ahu, He Tīwai Mātauranga Heaton Normal Intermediate, Rangi Ruru Girls' School, Selwyn House School, St Margarets College, 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 6
- Elmwood Normal SchoolContributing · decile 10 · EQI 376
- Ferndale Te AhuSpecialist School · decile 4 · EQI 521
He Tīwai Mātauranga Heaton Normal IntermediateIntermediate · decile 9 · EQI 407
Rangi Ruru Girls' SchoolSecondary (Year 7-15) · private, not rated
Selwyn House SchoolFull Primary · private, not rated
St Margaret's CollegeComposite · private, not rated
Zoned for Burnside High School · Christchurch Adventist School · Christchurch Boys' High School · Christchurch Girls' High School -Te Kura o Hine Waiora · Elmwood Normal School · He Tīwai Mātauranga Heaton Normal Intermediate · and 10 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 6
- Elmwood ParkSports ground · 7 ha · playground, 38 pieces
- Carlton Mill Riverbank
- Millbrook ReserveBotanic
- Merivale Reserveplayground, 7 pieces
- Clifford Reserve
- Merivale Village Green
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 5
- All Souls’ Church (St Mary's Anglican Church)an Anglican church · 30 Church Lane
- Christchurch Chinese Methodist Churcha Methodist church
- Christian Science Church & Reading Rooma Christian Science church · 66 Carlton Mill Road
- Grace Baptist Churcha Baptist church · 125 Heaton Street
- St Andrew's at Rangi Rurua Presbyterian church · 14 Merivale Lane
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 10
- Walk and bike track through Merivale3.1 km · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Merivale1.7 km · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Merivale918 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Merivale787 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Merivale376 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Merivale201 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Merivale187 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Merivale144 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
The first eight of 10, 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 6
The February 2011 survey drew mapped ground failure over 48.6% of this outline, about 101 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 133.9% of this outline, about 278 hectares, mostly TC2, with TC3 90 ha · TC2 188 ha. 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 7.4% of this outline, about 15 hectares, across 2 named events. A patch is one event’s observation, not a live hazard finding; the whole record is drawn at /floods.
2 parcels inside this outline sit on the hazardous-activities register, mostly cemeteries and waste recycling, treatment and disposal, vehicle refuelling, service and repair, 1 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.
The files record 150 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, mostly gravel, pitrun, engineered fill, 2 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.
The 2019 liquefaction study put 68% of this outline in the medium class, and 13 assessed areas here carry the free-face flag for possible lateral spreading. 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 13 assets on this ground, 7 sets of steps, 3 bridges, 2 shelters, 1 ramp, sited at Elmwood Park, Millbrook Reserve, Merivale Reserve, Carlton Mill Riverbank. 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 19 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 11 tennis, 3 football, 3 cricket, 1 bowls. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.
The register counts 1,195 living trees inside this outline, 74 veterans among them, 203 carrying a protection, mostly Pin Oak, Yoshino Cherry, Common Lime. The file remembers 520 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 31% of this outline under Residential Suburban, 70% residential, the rest mostly Medium density residential zone 29%, Transport 15%. 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 8 hectares of this outline, 4%, 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 1% of this outline, 2 qualifying matters, mostly 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 24 places by name in this suburb, 2 graded highly significant, Former Dwelling and Setting, Te Koroaha, St Andrew's Church and Setting, Commercial Building 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.
No high-hazard flood area covers this outline. The broader flood-management watch covers 55% of it, Avon River, Dudley Creek. 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 208 hectares across 1 mapped overlay, 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, 39 classified reaches, the plan calling Wilkins Drain and Cross Stream by name, 4% of it inside the setback strips, the widest holding 20 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, 37% of it inside the residential overlays, the densest standing Medium Density. 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 1,697 photographs on this ground, 2010–2016, 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, 9.4 km of cycleway crosses the outline, 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, 7 inscribed plaques, Elmwood Park, Millbrook Reserve, Merivale Village Green 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, 20 drawn instruments, 7 of them dog rules, 4 alcohol bans, 1 camping zone, a certified self-contained van can stay the night at Christchurch Urban Restricted Area, 8 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.
- Water Power - Aquafluereartwork · Phil Price
- Avon River / Ōtākarowaterway · 29.2 km
- Old Carlton Mill water racewaterway · 0.6 km
- Saint Albans Creekwaterway · 5.5 km
- Taylor's Drainwaterway · 1.5 km
- Wairarapa Streamwaterway · 5.5 km
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 284 injury crashes
284 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Merivale's outline, 58 seriously hurt, nobody killed.
The corner that keeps appearing: Bealey Avenue at Papanui Road, 13 injury crashes.
The crime record 1,909 recorded victimisations
1,909 victimisations on the Police record inside Merivale’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 89 a year per 1,000 residents. Up 15% on the year before. Reported is not all, how much never reaches the record depends on the offence.
The buses through it 33 stops
33 Metro stops inside Merivale's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 1, route 8, route 95, route 100, route 17.
- Bealey Ave
- Carlton Mill Rd near Cheltenham St
- Carlton Mill Rd near Exeter St
- Carlton Mill Rd near Hewitts Rd
- Carlton Mill Rd near Shrewsbury St
- Heaton Intermediate
- Heaton St
- Heaton St - St Georges
- Heaton St near Glandovey Rd
- Merivale Mall near Papanui Rd
- Merivale Mall near Papanui Rd
- Papanui Rd near Clare Rd
- Papanui Rd near Heaton St
- Papanui Rd near Holly Rd near Papanui Rd
- Papanui Rd near Holly Rd near Papanui Rd
- Papanui Rd near Milford St
Businesses here 192 in the directory
192 premises in Merivale across 52 kinds, from OpenStreetMap, the council’s licensed-premises register and its 2024 Find Christchurch directory. Each kind below opens at this suburb’s shelf.
- Restaurants25
- Clothing23
- Motels15
- Cafés14
- Fast food10
- Doctors & clinics7
- Hotels7
- Bars & pubs6
- Shoes5
- Bottle stores4
- Real estate4
- Supermarkets4
- Beauty3
- Delis3
- Hairdressers3
- Jewellery3
- Bakeries2
- Bookshops2
- Cinemas & theatres2
- Clubs2
- Furniture2
- Gift shops2
- Malls2
- Pharmacies2
- Sports centres2
- Travel agents2
- Advertising Agency1
- B&Bs1
- Banks1
- Butchers1
- Car washes1
- Cosmetics1
- Dairies & convenience1
- Dentists1
- Dry cleaners1
- Electronics Repair1
- Financial1
- Galleries1
- Gyms & fitness1
- Hairdresser Supply1
- Hospital1
- IT & software1
- Kitchen1
- Lawyers1
- Optometrists1
- Petrol stations1
- Photographers1
- Repair1
- Tailors1
- Tattoo & piercing1
- Translator1
- Watchmakers1
Among them, the ones the record says most about:
Before any of that
On the register here
- Bridge and Setting
- Carlton Bridge
- Commercial Building and Setting20 Papanui Road
- Dwelling and Setting70 Heaton Street
- Dwelling and Setting74 Heaton Street
- Dwelling and Setting2 Helmores Lane
- Dwelling and Setting16 Helmores Lane
- Dwelling and Setting41 Leinster Road
- Dwelling and Setting61 Leinster Road
- Dwelling and Setting98 Heaton Street
- Dwelling and Setting43 Holmwood Road
- Dwelling and Setting236 Papanui Road
- Dwelling and Setting122 Park Terrace
- Dwelling and Setting, Amwell166 Papanui Road
- Dwelling and Setting, Chippenham Lodge51 Browns Road
- Dwelling and Setting, Damsels283 Papanui Road
- Dwelling and Setting, Long Cottage10/142 Rugby Street
- Dwelling and Setting, Orana146 Papanui Road
- Dwelling and Setting, Te Wepu122 Papanui Road
- Dwellings and Setting, Maisonettes12 Bealey Avenue
- Elmwood Park
- Elmwood School War Memorial and Setting1/76 Leinster Road
- Former Dwelling and Setting108 Papanui Road
- Former Dwelling and Setting, Acland House85 Papanui Road
- Former Dwelling and Setting, Fitzroy
- Former Dwelling and Setting, Te Koroaha59P Hewitts Road
- Former Dwelling/ School and Setting, Former Rangi Ruru/Roseneath House110 Papanui Road
- Former St Albans Automatic Telephone Exchange and Setting29 St Albans Street
- Hagley Park
- Mona Vale Gatehouse and Setting65 Fendalton Road
- Mona Vale Grounds
- St Andrew's Church and Setting16 Merivale Lane
- Streets with trees and plaques
Documents 40
What the archive’s sources say about Merivale, 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.
51850s
171860s
161870s
1481880s
2601890s
7731900s
821910s
751920s
771930s
771940s
1950s
31960s
241970s
101980s
61990s
592000s
852010s
182020s
ELECTORAL ROLL FOR THE DISTRICT OF CHRISTCHURCH, July 5th, 1853. (Lyttelton Times, 16 July 1853)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
St Andrew's Church (Presbyterian) - List No. 304The New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero · Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga · 1856
JURY LIST. (Lyttelton Times, 20 February 1856)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 9 Advertisements Column 4 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 9 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 6 Advertisements Column 4 (Lyttelton Times, 06 June 1860)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 6 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 09 June 1860)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 6 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 09 June 1860)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 6 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 13 June 1860)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 6 Advertisements Column 4 (Lyttelton Times, 13 June 1860)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 Merivale 5 lately
I'm having a quiet night tomorrow and want to make a steak sandwich for dinner but it requires nice bread. Ideally, turkish or ciabatta or something like that. Feel free to provide any bread…r/chch · Secret-Plankton-392 ·
Aneuma rubricale seen — Carlton Mill Rd near Hewitts Rd, Merivale, Christchurch 8014, New ZealandiNaturalist · bythepark ·
Ray-finned Fishes seen — Rossall St near Rhodes St, Merivale, Christchurch 8014, New ZealandiNaturalist · bythepark ·
Camellias seen — Merivale, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · heiditaiao ·
Creeping Woodsorrel seen — Merivale, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · heiditaiao ·
564 more documents came up in searches for Merivale's places and have not been read yet, a lead is a search result, not a fact, until somebody reads it.
Next door
Compare Merivale with Strowan · Saint Albans · Fendalton · Christchurch Central City · Riccarton · Edgeware, same record, side by side.
Questions, answered briefly
What is Merivale?
Merivale is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, north of the city centre. The public record holds 4,874 council reports for it, the first filed in June 2015.
How many people live in Merivale?
5,560 people at the 2023 Census, 2,676 per square kilometre across 2.1 km².
How many people does the 2023 Census count for Merivale?
About 5,340 people and 2,217 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 Merivale?
4,874 reports on record, most often roads & footpaths (1,364), water & drains (1,059), graffiti & vandalism (1,048). 605 of them in the year to 12 October 2026.
How many crashes has Merivale had?
284 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 58 seriously hurt, nobody killed. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →
What did the earthquakes grade Merivale?
The 2011 technical categories filed 133.9% of the suburb’s outline, about 278 hectares, mostly TC2. TC1 meant standard foundations sufficed, TC2 enhanced, TC3 site-specific engineering, a verdict for the patch of ground, not a finding about any one address. The grades, drawn →
Every suburb in Christchurch → · Its decade, charted → · the whole A–Z →