chch.live a suburb, in depth

Saint Albans, Christchurch

11,241 council reports since June 2015, the 10th busiest suburb in the city. 8,990 photographs on record. 15,010 people at the 2023 Census, 3,782 to the square kilometre across 4.0 km².

Reports, all time
11,241
In the year to 12 Oct 2026
1,421
Busiest in Christchurch
10th
Photographs
8,990

The record also holds about $514 a week to rent 2023 Census snapshot 8,990 photographs 19 old photographs 2 schools 9 parks 6 places of worship 1 marae 15 tracks 5 names on the map 56.3% of the outline mapped liquefied graded mostly TC3 in 2011 the record drew water over 16% of the outline inside a managed flood catchment noise overlays over 88% of the outline setback strips over 6% of the outline 52% of the outline inside the plan’s density overlays 4,413 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground 22.0 km of cycleway crosses the outline 5 remembered names on this ground 14 drawn rules bind this ground 4 parcels on the dangerous-work register 155 parcels of made ground 3 parcels with a cleanup on file the 2019 model grades this ground mostly medium 25 council structures on the register 1 recreation register record 2,509 trees on the register the plan’s word on this ground 2% of the outline reserved the plan’s exceptions touch 5% of the outline 12 places on the heritage schedule 390 injury crashes 3,313 recorded victimisations 34 bus stops 116 businesses the council’s fix times 22 heritage places 40 documents

See it on the map Its decade, charted

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

$514/week middle half $447–$633

New bonds here ran at about $514 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $447 and $633, across 201 bonds lodged, down 2% on a year ago. That’s about $36 a week below the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the St Albans North, St Albans West and St Albans East areas combined, approximately this suburb.

By dwelling type and bedrooms, April–June 2026 quarter
  • 1-bedroom house, $527 a week · 105 new bonds
  • 2-bedroom house, $513 a week · 24 new bonds
  • 3-bedroom house, $705 a week · 18 new bonds
  • 2-bedroom apartment, $482 a week · 12 new bonds
  • 1-bedroom flat/unit, $126 a week · 9 new bonds
  • 2-bedroom flat/unit, $445 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 56% of it; the 2011 grading filed it mostly TC3, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.

Day to day it holds 2 schools, 9 parks, 6 places of worship, 1 marae, 15 tracks and 34 bus stops, each is counted further down.

Lately the record’s mostly roads & footpaths, 1,421 reports in the year to 12 October 2026, the newest 11 October 2026.

One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 25 January 2016, 31 reports in a single day.

2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here

People
8,373
Under 15
12%
65 and over
14%
Occupied households
3,834

About 8,373 people and 3,834 occupied private households in the “St Albans West”, “St Albans East” and “St Albans North” areas, grouped from 51 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 overseas32% of stated birthplace
  • European ethnicity76% of ethnicity responses
  • Māori ethnicity9% of ethnicity responses
  • Pacific Peoples ethnicity3% of ethnicity responses
  • Asian ethnicity18% of ethnicity responses
  • Households with internet85% of stated households
  • Households with two or more vehicles40% 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

St Albans is a large, inner-northern suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located directly north of the Christchurch Central Business District. It is the second largest suburb in the city by population, with a population of 13,137 at the 2018 Census. The suburb falls within the Christchurch Central electorate and is represented by Duncan Webb, who has been the member of parliament since the 2017 general election.

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

As reported 8,990 on record

1049 Colombo St49 Hawkesbury Ave56 St Albans St35 Webb St183–185 Springfield Rd5 Keoghs Ln 8,990 photographs
on the wall →

The suburb, back then 19 in the archive

Abberley Park Hall, 1940Abberley Park Hall, 1941St Albans shop, 1900Mission Church, St Albans, 1910St Albans School about 1912, 1910L Sergt M Allen of St Albans, wounded, 1917Lieut Frank R Bushell of St Albans, wounded, 1917Pte Cecil L Ardley of St Albans, killed in action, 1917Pte E Hartley of St Albans, killed in action, 1917Pte Harold Grace of St Albans, wounded, 1917 19 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 Saint Albans

Lately the newest reports

Trees - General, a report photo
Trees - General35 Webb St

Hi this pittosporum has died. Can it please be removed and replaced wirh something. This is a lovely area well maintained by the council. Thanks very much

Reports per year up 1% 2024→2025

What gets reported

Roads & footpaths 2,804
Graffiti & vandalism 2,656
Water & drains 2,414
Rubbish & dumping 1,655
Trees & parks 997
Vehicles & parking 476
Everything else 173
Animals & pests 42 Noise 24

Streets that keep coming up each a street page

Every street the archive knows in Saint Albans →

Exactly what people say

How fast the council fixes things here 17,817 finished jobs on record

The median council work order pinned in Saint Albans 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. 448 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 31 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

2 sensitive sites stand here, St Albans Catholic School, St Albans 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 · Christchurch Boys' High School · Christchurch Girls' High School -Te Kura o Hine Waiora · Emmanuel Christian School · He Tīwai Mātauranga Heaton Normal Intermediate · Marian College · and 15 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 9

The first eight of 9, 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 6

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 marae standing here 1

Marae in the region’s roll, a marae stands where it stands; the join names the suburb the roll files it under. The whole roll is at /maraes.

The tracks through here 15

The first eight of 15, 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 5

The February 2011 survey drew mapped ground failure over 56.3% of this outline, about 224 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 133.6% of this outline, about 530 hectares, mostly TC3, with TC3 529 ha · TC2 2 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 15.9% of this outline, about 63 hectares, across 4 named events. A patch is one event’s observation, not a live hazard finding; the whole record is drawn at /floods.

4 parcels inside this outline sit on the hazardous-activities register, mostly chemical manufacture, application and bulk storage, cemeteries and waste recycling, treatment and disposal, vehicle refuelling, service and repair, 2 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.

The files record 155 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, about 10 hectares, mostly peat, topsoil, gravel, 10 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.

3 parcels inside this outline carry a cleanup on the file, 2 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 61% of this outline in the medium class, and 5 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 25 assets on this ground, 8 shelters, 8 sets of steps, 4 bridges, 4 ramps, sited at Abberley Park, St Albans Community Centre, English Park Stadium, Lewisham Reserve. 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 1 record inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 1 rugby. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.

The register counts 2,509 living trees inside this outline, 68 veterans among them, 152 carrying a protection, mostly Kobushi Magnolia, Ash, Sweet Gum. The file remembers 1,175 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 48% of this outline under Medium density residential zone, 72% residential, the rest mostly Transport 23%, Residential Suburban 19%. 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 6 hectares of this outline, 2%, under 2 designations, mostly movement, 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 5% of this outline, 4 qualifying matters, mostly heritage, residential. 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 12 places by name in this suburb, 2 graded highly significant, Former Dwelling and Setting, Fitzroy, Te Whatu Manawa Maoritanga O Rehua and Setting, Abberley Park among them. And the street itself is listed, the Church Property Trustees North St Albans Subdivision (1923) heritage area lies here, protected as a street rather than house by house. 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, Dudley Creek, 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 88% of this outline, about 349 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, 161 classified reaches, the plan calling St Albans Creek and Dudley Creek by name, 6% 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, 52% 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 4,413 photographs on this ground, 2009–2017, roading 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, 22.0 km of cycleway crosses the outline, 4.4 km of it separated from the traffic, Papanui Parallel. A segment counts under every suburb its path enters; the whole network is drawn at /cycleways.

The remembered names stand on this ground, 5 inscribed plaques, Abberley Park, English Park Stadium, English Park 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, 14 drawn instruments, 4 of them dog rules, 2 alcohol bans, 1 camping zone, a certified self-contained van can stay the night at Christchurch Urban Restricted Area, 7 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.

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 390 injury crashes

390 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Saint Albans's outline, 4 people killed, 73 seriously hurt.

The corner that keeps appearing: Cranford Street at McFaddens Road, 20 injury crashes.

the suburb’s crashes on the map →

The crime record 3,313 recorded victimisations

3,313 victimisations on the Police record inside Saint Albans’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 99 a year per 1,000 residents. Up 21% 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 34 stops

34 Metro stops inside Saint Albans's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 27, route 100, the Orbiter (anticlockwise), the Orbiter (clockwise).

Every route in the record →

Businesses here 116 in the directory

116 premises in Saint Albans 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. Abberley Park
  2. Commercial Building and Setting20 Papanui Road
  3. Dwelling and Setting66 Derby Street
  4. Dwelling and Setting74 Derby Street
  5. Dwelling and Setting153 Holly Road
  6. Dwelling and Setting236 Papanui Road
  7. Dwelling and Setting41 Ranfurly Street
  8. Dwelling and Setting45 Ranfurly Street
  9. Dwelling and Setting102D Springfield Road
  10. Dwelling and Setting, Amwell166 Papanui Road
  11. Dwelling and Setting, Chippenham Lodge51 Browns Road
  12. Dwelling and Setting, Cobham35 Knowles Street
  13. Dwelling and Setting, Long Cottage10/142 Rugby Street
  14. Dwelling and Setting, Orana146 Papanui Road
  15. Dwelling and Setting, Te Wepu122 Papanui Road
  16. Former Dwelling and Setting108 Papanui Road
  17. Former Dwelling and Setting, Acland House85 Papanui Road
  18. Former Dwelling and Setting, Fitzroy
  19. Former Dwelling/ School and Setting, Former Rangi Ruru/Roseneath House110 Papanui Road
  20. Former St Albans Automatic Telephone Exchange and Setting29 St Albans Street
  21. Streets with trees and plaques
  22. Te Whatu Manawa Maoritanga O Rehua and Setting79 Springfield Road

The register’s own page for St Albans →

Documents 40

What the archive’s sources say about Saint Albans, 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.

LAST- NIGHT'S MEETING. (New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, 15 December 1841)…e sugden rochester douglas bodkin rochdale crawtord s rye curteis s talford lirotberton s st albans repton lord listowell s st ives w praed salisbury wyndham brodie s sandwich sir t troubridge s linds…New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
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
JURY LIST. (Lyttelton Times, 31 March 1855)…h near lyttelton attorney-at-law brooker stephen near ohristchurch laborer broughton john st albans laborer brown john thomas gloucester street christchurch stockowner brown charles hunter waipara sta…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
JURY LIST. (Lyttelton Times, 04 April 1855)…evre francois head of akaroa harbour farmer lewis david christchurch butcher lewis thomas st albans carpenter lingard john lyttelton miner lingard james lyttelton miner little henry f stoneyhurst stat…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Evans, Charles, Papauni Laboure (Lyttelton Times, 20 February 1856)…prior tlionias a onht-ad laborer purvis james cliristchmcii surv t vor quaife john price st albans hibourer kae charles lyttelton warehoustmiian llandall haifour lvtlehon seaman liapley william pipan…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
JURY LIST. (Lyttelton Times, 20 February 1856)…william henry lyttelton blacksmith dimond david p lytlelton storekeeper dickensoi georjre st albans farmer dillaway john riccanon publican dixon joseph heathcote river labourer dobson edward sumner pr…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
BIRTHS. (Lyttelton Times, 16 December 1857)…chapman august 25 at spring bank the wife of mr robert chapman of a son chapman nov 20 at st albans the wife of mr samuel chapman of a daughter day sept 28 at kaiapoi the wife of mr george day of a so…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 9 Advertisements Column 4 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)…labourer hills william kaiapoi bush sawyer hill charles lyttelton labourer hinton william st albans labourer hobbs william armagh street christchurchj tailor hovbs john upper heathcote farmer hobbs wi…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 9 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)…yer derrett edwin papanui sawyer deny william henry lyttelton blacksmith dickensou george st albans farmer dilloway john riccarton publican diuaond david p lyttelton storekeeper dixou joseph ferry roa…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 9 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)…ming sir michael river law heath cote baronet leggett john lyttelton mariner lewis thomas st albans carpenter lewis david christchurch butcher lingard john ferry road miner lingard james ferry road mi…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held

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

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

Next door

EdgewareMerivaleMairehauRichmondStrowanChristchurch Central City

Compare Saint Albans with Edgeware · Merivale · Mairehau · Richmond · Strowan · Christchurch Central City, same record, side by side.

Questions, answered briefly

What is Saint Albans?

St Albans is a large, inner-northern suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located directly north of the Christchurch Central Business District. The public record holds 11,241 council reports for it, the first filed in June 2015.

How many people live in Saint Albans?

15,010 people at the 2023 Census, 3,782 per square kilometre across 4.0 km².

How many people does the 2023 Census count for Saint Albans?

About 8,373 people and 3,834 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 Saint Albans?

11,241 reports on record, most often roads & footpaths (2,804), graffiti & vandalism (2,656), water & drains (2,414). 1,421 of them in the year to 12 October 2026.

How many crashes has Saint Albans had?

390 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 4 people killed, 73 seriously hurt. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →

What did the earthquakes grade Saint Albans?

The 2011 technical categories filed 133.6% of the suburb’s outline, about 530 hectares, mostly TC3. 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 →