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Somerfield, Christchurch

6,997 council reports since June 2015, the 18th busiest suburb in the city. 5,649 photographs on record. 7,080 people at the 2023 Census, 2,857 to the square kilometre across 2.5 km².

Reports, all time
6,997
In the year to 12 Oct 2026
974
Busiest in Christchurch
18th
Photographs
5,649

The record also holds about $567 a week to rent 2023 Census snapshot 5,649 photographs 2 old photographs 2 schools 4 parks 2 civic facilities 1 place of worship 12 tracks 6 names on the map 39.3% of the outline mapped liquefied graded mostly TC2 in 2011 the record drew water over 11% of the outline the Ngāi Tahu schedule covers 2% of the outline ecological sites over 2% of the outline landscape schedules over 2% of the outline high flood hazard over 1% of the outline setback strips over 5% of the outline 31% of the outline inside the plan’s density overlays 2,130 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground 25.9 km of cycleway crosses the outline 3 remembered names on this ground 9 drawn rules bind this ground 6 parcels on the dangerous-work register 68 parcels of made ground 2 parcels with a cleanup on file the 2019 model grades this ground mostly medium 11 council structures on the register 26 recreation register records 1,719 trees on the register the plan’s word on this ground 6% of the outline reserved 4 places on the heritage schedule 16 epicentres inside the outline 165 injury crashes 1,122 recorded victimisations 26 bus stops 33 businesses the council’s fix times alcohol ban over 16% of the outline 9 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

$567/week middle half $515–$661

New bonds here ran at about $567 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $515 and $661, across 69 bonds lodged: flat on a year ago. That’s about $17 a week above the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the Somerfield East and Somerfield West areas combined, approximately this suburb.

By dwelling type and bedrooms, April–June 2026 quarter
  • 1-bedroom house, $554 a week · 24 new bonds
  • 2-bedroom house, $560 a week · 12 new bonds
  • 3-bedroom house, $735 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 39% 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, 4 parks, 2 civic facilities, 1 place of worship, 12 tracks and 26 bus stops, each is counted further down.

Lately the record’s mostly graffiti & vandalism, 974 reports in the year to 12 October 2026, the newest 11 October 2026.

One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 2 October 2016, 39 reports in a single day.

2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here

People
6,813
Under 15
19%
65 and over
18%
Occupied households
2,664

About 6,813 people and 2,664 occupied private households in the “Somerfield West” and “Somerfield East” areas, grouped from 47 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 overseas22% of stated birthplace
  • European ethnicity88% of ethnicity responses
  • Māori ethnicity9% of ethnicity responses
  • Pacific Peoples ethnicity2% of ethnicity responses
  • Asian ethnicity7% of ethnicity responses
  • Households with internet85% of stated households
  • Households with two or more vehicles49% 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

Somerfield is a suburb in the south of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is nominally bordered by the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River to the south and west, Strickland and Colombo Streets to the east, and Milton Street to the north. The suburb includes Somerfield School, Somerfield Park and a small number of shops which service the local area, although it is predominantly residential. Somerfield is also known for its wide variety of trees, especially along the banks of the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River.

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

As reported 5,649 on record

81 Roberta Dr188 Barrington Street, Somerfield93 Ashgrove Tce295 Ashgrove Terrace, SomerfieldSomerfield Reserve 53 Studholme Street, Somerfield249 Ashgrove Terrace, Somerfield 5,649 photographs
on the wall →

The suburb, back then 2 in the archive

Upper-storey room exposed by demolition, 2011Area around Columbo and Somerfield Streets, Christchurch, 1972 2 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 Somerfield

Lately the newest reports

Public Toilet, a report photo
Public ToiletSomerfield Reserve 53 Studholme Street

sommerfield Park men's toilet has been flooded someone has blocked the toilet intentionally

Water Fountain, a report photo
Water Fountain59 Studholme St

Water fountain set up leads to a mud puddle at this entrance. Can we install some form of drainage or soak pit or I’m sure you guys can think of something :)

Reports per year down 17% 2024→2025

What gets reported

Graffiti & vandalism 1,608
Water & drains 1,589
Roads & footpaths 1,251
Rubbish & dumping 1,118
Trees & parks 956
Vehicles & parking 237
Everything else 193
Animals & pests 31 Noise 14

Streets that keep coming up each a street page

Every street the archive knows in Somerfield →

Exactly what people say

How fast the council fixes things here 10,190 finished jobs on record

The median council work order pinned in Somerfield 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 9 weeks or longer. 232 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 27 February 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

South Colombo. A public drinking ban, at all times, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, covers about 16% of Somerfield.

3 sensitive sites stand here, Cashmere High School, Somerfield Te Kura Wairepo, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Whanau Tahi, 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 Cashmere High School · Christchurch Adventist School · Christchurch South Karamata Intermediate School · Hillview Christian School · Middleton Grange School · Our Lady of the Assumption School (Chch) · 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 4

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 1

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 12

The first eight of 12, 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 39.3% of this outline, about 97 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 445.0% of this outline, about 1,103 hectares, mostly TC2, with TC3 8 ha · TC2 1,095 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 11.5% of this outline, about 28 hectares, across 4 named events. 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 cemeteries and waste recycling, treatment and disposal, vehicle refuelling, service and repair, 4 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.

The files record 68 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, about 18 hectares, mostly mixed fill with rubbish, engineered fill, silt, 15 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.

2 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 medium 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 11 assets on this ground, 4 sets of steps, 3 ramps, 2 bridges, 2 shelters, sited at Ashgrove Reserve, Sydenham Cemetery, Somerfield Community Centre, Cashmere Riverbank 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 26 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 12 football, 7 touch rugby, 3 cricket, 2 tennis. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.

The register counts 1,719 living trees inside this outline, 31 veterans among them, 23 carrying a protection, mostly Kobushi Magnolia, Kowhai, Field Maple. The file remembers 863 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 35% of this outline under Residential Suburban, 67% residential, the rest mostly Medium density residential zone 31%, Transport 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 14 hectares of this outline, 6%, 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 heritage schedule protects 4 places by name in this suburb, 1 graded highly significant, The Malthouse and Setting, MED Substation, Somerfield Hall 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 2% of this outline, ngā wai. 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 2% 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 2% 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.

The plan’s flood map draws 1% of this outline inside high flood hazard ground across 1 mapped area. The broader flood-management watch covers 11% of it, Heathcote 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 water-margin layers cross this outline, 25 classified reaches, the plan calling Heathcote / Opawaho River and Tennysons Drain by name, 5% 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, 31% 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 2,130 photographs on this ground, 2000–2016, 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, 25.9 km of cycleway crosses the outline, 1.0 km of it separated from the traffic, Nor'West Arc, Quarryman's Trail, Ōpāwaho River. A segment counts under every suburb its path enters; the whole network is drawn at /cycleways.

The remembered names stand on this ground, 3 inscribed plaques, Ashgrove Reserve, Somerfield Park, Pioneer Rec And Sports Centre 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, 9 drawn instruments, 2 of them dog rules, 1 alcohol ban, 6 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 16 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside this outline since the sequence opened, the biggest a M4.3 in 2016. 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 165 injury crashes

165 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Somerfield's outline, 2 people killed, 32 seriously hurt.

The corner that keeps appearing: Milton Street at Selwyn Street, 19 injury crashes.

the suburb’s crashes on the map →

The crime record 1,122 recorded victimisations

1,122 victimisations on the Police record inside Somerfield’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 41 a year per 1,000 residents. Up 4% 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 26 stops

26 Metro stops inside Somerfield's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 44, route 60, the Orbiter (clockwise), the Orbiter (anticlockwise), route 120.

Every route in the record →

Businesses here 33 in the directory

33 premises in Somerfield across 19 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. Barrington Park Gates
  2. Dwelling and Setting, Hursthaven16 Hackthorne Road
  3. Former Dwelling and Setting, Ngaio Marsh House37 Valley Road
  4. MED Substation2E Woodard Terrace
  5. Ngaio Marsh House Garden37 Valley Road
  6. Somerfield Hall47 Studholme Street
  7. St Augustine's Anglican Church and Setting5 Cracroft Terrace
  8. Sydenham Cemetery
  9. The Malthouse and Setting69 Colombo Street

Documents 40

What the archive’s sources say about Somerfield, 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, 17 May 1851)…ood in portions to suit the convenience of parties for particulars apply to mr e b bishop somerfield farm near christchurcli to letin one or more lots fifty acres of land with pasturage adjoining well…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 4 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 31 May 1851)…ood in portions to suit the convenience of parties for particulars apply to mr e b bishop somerfield farm near christchurch to let in one or more lots fifty acres of land with pasturage adjoining well…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 07 June 1851)…the new road between christchurch and the ferry o for particulars apply to mr e b bishop somerfield farm river heathcote tolet tn one or more lots fifty acres of land with pasturage adjoining well ad…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 1 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 28 June 1851)…on the new road between christchurch and the ferry for particulars apply to mr e b bishop somerfield farm river heathcote to let in one or move lots fifty acres of land with pasturage adjoining well a…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 05 July 1851)…the new road between christ j church and the ferry for particulars apply to mr e b bishop somerfield farm river heathcote new whalelboat for sale the splendid new whaleboat lavinia built by t and w da…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 26 July 1851)…on the new road between christchurch and the ferry for particulars apply to mr e b bishop somerfield farm river heathcote pasturage wanted on hire rpihe undersigned desires to rent or hire for three o…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 4 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 02 August 1851)…on the new road between chris-church and the ferry forparticulars apply to mr e b bishop somerfield farm riverheathcote…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 4 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 16 August 1851)…new road between christ i church and the ferry j for particulars apply to mr e b bisnor i somerfield farm river heathcote ghristghurcit i rpo be let on hire a strong use ful broad-wheeled cam apply to…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 23 August 1851)…n the new road between christchurcli and the ferry for particulars apply to mr e b bishop somerfield farm river heathcote christchurch mo be let on hire a strong use ful broad-wheeled caet apply to c…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 30 August 1851)…on the new road between christchurch and the ferry for particulars apply to mr e b bishop somerfield farm river heathcote ghristghurgh to be let on hire a strong useful broad-wheeled cart apply to c w…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 Somerfield 5 lately

European Goldfinch seen — Lyttelton St near Conway St, Somerfield, Christchurch 8024, New ZealandiNaturalist · adamduchac ·
There’s another Banks Peninsula - Meet the Candidates event on at 6pm tomorrow at Somerfield School. It’s electorate focused, we’ll be doing our best to keep the focus on what the candidates might be…r/chch · Excellent_Lake1681 ·
Common Cotula seen — Somerfield, Christchurch 8024, New ZealandiNaturalist · mikerodgers ·
Something seen — Somerfield St, Christchurch, Canterbury, NZiNaturalist · thomasjbrooks2005 ·
Something seen — Somerfield St, Christchurch, Canterbury, NZiNaturalist · thomasjbrooks2005 ·

The whole wire →

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

Next door

SpreydonCashmereBeckenhamHoon HaySydenhamAddington

Compare Somerfield with Spreydon · Cashmere · Beckenham · Hoon Hay · Sydenham · Addington, same record, side by side.

Questions, answered briefly

What is Somerfield?

Somerfield is a suburb in the south of Christchurch, New Zealand. The public record holds 6,997 council reports for it, the first filed in June 2015.

How many people live in Somerfield?

7,080 people at the 2023 Census, 2,857 per square kilometre across 2.5 km².

How many people does the 2023 Census count for Somerfield?

About 6,813 people and 2,664 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 Somerfield?

6,997 reports on record, most often graffiti & vandalism (1,608), water & drains (1,589), roads & footpaths (1,251). 974 of them in the year to 12 October 2026.

How many crashes has Somerfield had?

165 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 2 people killed, 32 seriously hurt. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →

Did earthquakes strike under Somerfield?

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 16 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside the suburb’s mapped outline since the September 2010 mainshock, the biggest a M4.3 in 2016. 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 →