Christchurch City Council
Encyclopedia
The Christchurch City Council is the local government
authority for Christchurch
in New Zealand
. It is a territorial authority
elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since 2007, the Mayor of Christchurch
is Bob Parker, who stood as an independent candidate. The council consists of 13 members elected from seven wards, and is presided over by the Mayor, who is elected at large.
As a result of the 1989 local government reforms, on 1 November 1989 Christchurch City Council took over the functions of the former Christchurch City Council, Heathcote County Council, Riccarton Borough Council, Waimairi District Council, part of Paparua County Council, and the Christchurch Drainage Board. On 6 March 2006, Banks Peninsula District Council merged with Christchurch City Council.
For electoral purposes, Christchurch is divided into seven wards. The six metropolitan wards each elect two Councillors, with the remaining Councillor elected for the sparsely populated Banks Peninsula ward.
Party politics
are much less influential in elections to the Council than is the case for the House of Representatives
. In 2007, the Mayor and a majority of Councillors were elected as independent candidates. Political groupings represented on the Council are the centre-right Independent Citizens and the centre-left Christchurch 2021.
Councillors also serve on a number of committees. , there is one Standing Committee, eight Standing Subcommittees, seven Joint Standing Committees and Working Parties (so called because they involve members of other local authorities), and 14 ad hoc subcommittees and working parties. The Council can delegate certain powers to these committees, or alternatively they can consider matters in more detail and make recommendations to the full Council.
Each of the metropolitan wards has one Community Board, composed of the two Councillors for that ward, who serve ex officio, and five other members elected by the residents of the ward. The Banks Peninsula ward is divided geographically between the Lyttelton–Mt Herbert and Akaroa–Wairewa community boards, each of which consists of five elected board members and the Councillor for Banks Peninsula.
Some Community Boards, like the Council, have created committees for specific purposes.
Mayor and Executive Team
), water, sewerage, waste collection, parks and reserves, and libraries. Urban development is managed through the maintenance of a city plan
and associated zoning
regulations, together with building and resource consent
s. The Council has been given extra powers to regulate certain types of business operations, notably suppliers of alcohol
and brothel
s.
system, which replaced their previous system. The previous system required the resident to put a black rubbish bag out every week to the kerbside, along with a green recycling crate. With the current system, residents are given three wheelie bins: One 240 litre bin (recycling
), One 140 litre bin (rubbish), and one 80 litre bin (organics
). Each week, residents can put two of the three bins out. The 80 litre organics bin goes out every week and the 240 litre recycling and the 140 litre rubbish alternate.
The Christchurch Municipal Council, as it was originally called, was using the Christchurch Land Office, the first public building erected in Christchurch in 1851.
1887–1924
On the same site, the council had the so far only purpose-built council chambers constructed, designed by Samuel Hurst Seager in a Queen Anne style. The building is these days known as Our City
and is registered as a Category I heritage building with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust
(NZHPT).
1924–1980
Council purchased the burned out shell of the former Canterbury Hall and built new civic offices in Manchester Street. These days known as the Civic
, the building is registered as a Category II heritage building with the NZHPT.
1980–2010
Council bought the former Hays Department Store and moved to 163 Tuam Street in 1980. This gave rise to the occasional metonymic
use of Tuam Street to refer to the municipal government. The building is registered as a Category II heritage building with the NZHPT.
2010 to present
In August 2010, the Council's new offices were officially opened in a refurbishment of the former Christchurch Mail Sorting Centre, designed by the Ministry of Works in 1974. The redevelopment was supervised by Wellington
based architect Ian Athfield
.
The council also maintains service centres in the suburbs of Fendalton
, Linwood
, Papanui
, Riccarton
, Shirley
, Sockburn and Sydenham
, and in the towns of Lyttelton
, Little River
and Akaroa
.
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
authority for Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is a territorial authority
Territorial authorities of New Zealand
Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils, and the Chatham Islands Council...
elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since 2007, the Mayor of Christchurch
Mayor of Christchurch
The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system...
is Bob Parker, who stood as an independent candidate. The council consists of 13 members elected from seven wards, and is presided over by the Mayor, who is elected at large.
History
Elections
The Council is elected every three years using the first past the post voting system. The vote is conducted by postal ballot. The most recent elections, which closed on 13 October 2007, had a turnout of 41.7%.For electoral purposes, Christchurch is divided into seven wards. The six metropolitan wards each elect two Councillors, with the remaining Councillor elected for the sparsely populated Banks Peninsula ward.
Party politics
Party Politics
Party Politics is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of Political Science. The journal's editors are David M Farrell and Paul Webb...
are much less influential in elections to the Council than is the case for the House of Representatives
New Zealand House of Representatives
The New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....
. In 2007, the Mayor and a majority of Councillors were elected as independent candidates. Political groupings represented on the Council are the centre-right Independent Citizens and the centre-left Christchurch 2021.
Council members
, the composition of the Council is as follows:| Ward | Councillor(s) |
|---|---|
| Mayor | Bob Parker (Independent) |
| Deputy Mayor | Ngaire Button (IC) |
| Banks Peninsula | Claudia Reid (Independent) |
| Burwood-Pegasus | Glenn Livingstone ( Christchurch 2021), Chrissie Williams (Christchurch 2021) |
| Fendalton-Waimari | Sally Buck (independent), Jamie Gough (IC) |
| Hagley-Ferrymead | Tim Carter (Independent), Yani Johanson (Christchurch 2021) |
| Riccarton-Wigram | Helen Broughton (IC), Jimmy Chen (Christchurch 2021) |
| Shirley-Papanui | Ngaire Button (IC), Aaron Keown (Christchurch City Vision) |
| Spreydon-Heathcote | Barry Corbett (Independent), Sue Wells Sue Wells Sue Wells is a media personality and city councillor in Christchurch, New Zealand. She was first elected onto the Shirley-Papanui community board in 1995. In 1998 and 2001, she was a councillor in the Heathcote ward... (Independent) |
Mayor, council and committees
Under most circumstances, the Council is presided over by the Mayor. At its first meeting after a local election, the Council elects from among its members a Deputy Mayor, who acts as Mayor in the absence and with the consent, or in the incapacity, of the Mayor. The Deputy Mayor also presides at meetings if the Mayor is not present. The Deputy Mayor is recommended by the Mayor and is either confirmed or replaced in a vote of the first council meeting.Councillors also serve on a number of committees. , there is one Standing Committee, eight Standing Subcommittees, seven Joint Standing Committees and Working Parties (so called because they involve members of other local authorities), and 14 ad hoc subcommittees and working parties. The Council can delegate certain powers to these committees, or alternatively they can consider matters in more detail and make recommendations to the full Council.
Community Boards
The Council has established eight Community Boards. These Community Boards deal with matters delegated to them by the Council, act as representatives and advocates for their communities, and interact with community organisations and interest groups. General tasks typically delegated to local community boards are the locations of Council rubbish bins, traffic light, stop sign and pedestrian crossings; Also rubbish collection, local disturbance review and relaying information to the main council from their Ward area through the Councillor who has a right to sit on the Board within their ward.Each of the metropolitan wards has one Community Board, composed of the two Councillors for that ward, who serve ex officio, and five other members elected by the residents of the ward. The Banks Peninsula ward is divided geographically between the Lyttelton–Mt Herbert and Akaroa–Wairewa community boards, each of which consists of five elected board members and the Councillor for Banks Peninsula.
Some Community Boards, like the Council, have created committees for specific purposes.
Organisational support
The day-to-day administration of the City of Christchurch is carried out by a large team of Council staff. Indeed, in everyday usage, the term the council is extended to include not just the Mayor and Councillors, but the entire local civil service. The professional head of the civil service is the Chief Executive, who is appointed by the Council under contract for up to five years. The Chief Executive is assisted by eight General Managers, each with his or her own portfolio.Mayor and Executive Team
| Office | Incumbent |
|---|---|
| Mayor | Bob Parker |
| Deputy Mayor | Ngaire Button |
| Chief Executive | Tony Marryatt |
| General Manager of Capital Program | Kevin Locke |
| General Manager of City Environment | Jane Parfitt |
| General Manager of Community Services | Michael Aitken |
| General Manager of Corporate Services | Paul Anderson |
| General Manager of Human Resources | Chris Till |
| General Manager of Public Affairs | Lydia Aydon |
| General Manager of Relegation and Democracy Services | Peter Mitchell |
| General Manager of Strategy and Planning | Mike Theelen |
Responsibilities and services
The Council is vested with a power of "general competence" for the social, economic and cultural well-being of Christchurch. In particular, the Council has responsibility for a range of local services, including roads (except State HighwaysNew Zealand State Highway network
The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...
), water, sewerage, waste collection, parks and reserves, and libraries. Urban development is managed through the maintenance of a city plan
District Plan
A District Plan is a statutory planning document of New Zealand's territorial authorities.Mainly covering land use/zoning questions, they have become required since the advent of the Resource Management Act 1991...
and associated zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
regulations, together with building and resource consent
Resource consent
A resource consent is the authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act . Some activities may either be specifically authorised by the RMA or be permitted activities authorised by rules in plans...
s. The Council has been given extra powers to regulate certain types of business operations, notably suppliers of alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
s.
Kerbside waste collection
Christchurch has a wheelie bin kerbside collectionKerbside collection
Curbside collection, or kerbside collection is a service provided to households, typically in urban and suburban areas, of removing household waste...
system, which replaced their previous system. The previous system required the resident to put a black rubbish bag out every week to the kerbside, along with a green recycling crate. With the current system, residents are given three wheelie bins: One 240 litre bin (recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
), One 140 litre bin (rubbish), and one 80 litre bin (organics
Organic matter
Organic matter is matter that has come from a once-living organism; is capable of decay, or the product of decay; or is composed of organic compounds...
). Each week, residents can put two of the three bins out. The 80 litre organics bin goes out every week and the 240 litre recycling and the 140 litre rubbish alternate.
Offices
1862–1887The Christchurch Municipal Council, as it was originally called, was using the Christchurch Land Office, the first public building erected in Christchurch in 1851.
1887–1924
On the same site, the council had the so far only purpose-built council chambers constructed, designed by Samuel Hurst Seager in a Queen Anne style. The building is these days known as Our City
Our City, Christchurch
Our City, or more formally Our City O-Tautahi, is on the corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace in the Christchurch Central City. It is a Category I heritage building registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust...
and is registered as a Category I heritage building with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust is a non-profit trust that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage buildings in New Zealand...
(NZHPT).
1924–1980
Council purchased the burned out shell of the former Canterbury Hall and built new civic offices in Manchester Street. These days known as the Civic
Civic, Christchurch
The Civic in Manchester Street, Christchurch Central City, was one of the former civic buildings of Christchurch City Council . Built in 1900, it was first used as an exhibition hall, a cinema and then a theatre. It burned down in 1917. The northern part of the building was purchased by CCC and...
, the building is registered as a Category II heritage building with the NZHPT.
1980–2010
Council bought the former Hays Department Store and moved to 163 Tuam Street in 1980. This gave rise to the occasional metonymic
Metonymy
Metonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept...
use of Tuam Street to refer to the municipal government. The building is registered as a Category II heritage building with the NZHPT.
2010 to present
In August 2010, the Council's new offices were officially opened in a refurbishment of the former Christchurch Mail Sorting Centre, designed by the Ministry of Works in 1974. The redevelopment was supervised by Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
based architect Ian Athfield
Ian Athfield
Ian Charles Athfield is a New Zealand architect. He was born in Christchurch and graduated from the University of Auckland in 1963 with a Diploma of Architecture. That same year he joined Structon Group Architects, and he became a partner in 1965...
.
The council also maintains service centres in the suburbs of Fendalton
Fendalton
Fendalton is a suburb of Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand.-History:Fendalton was originally known at Fendall Town, named after the original settler of the land, Walpole Cheshire Fendall . Fendall emigrated from Yorkshire in 1850 and took up land north of the Waimairi Stream...
, Linwood
Linwood, New Zealand
Linwood is an inner suburb of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It lies to the East of the city centre, mostly between Ferry Road and Linwood Avenue, two of the major arterial roads to the Eastern suburbs of Christchurch.-History:...
, Papanui
Papanui
Papanui is a major suburb of Christchurch New Zealand. It is sited five kilometers to the northwest of the city centre. Papanui is a middle socio-economic area with a population of 3,543 consisting predominantly of Pākehā 92.3%, Māori 5.7%, Pacific peoples 2.5%, Asian 5.0%, Middle Eastern/Latin...
, Riccarton
Riccarton, New Zealand
Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch. It is due west of the city centre, separated from it by Hagley Park. Upper Riccarton is to the west of Riccarton.-History:...
, Shirley
Shirley, New Zealand
Shirley, sometimes referred to as Windsor, is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, about north-east of the city centre.-Naming:Susannah Buxton was married to John Buxton . On her deathbed in 1868, she asked her son, Joseph Shirley Buxton , to gift land to the Methodists to build a church...
, Sockburn and Sydenham
Sydenham, New Zealand
Sydenham is an inner suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located two kilometres south of the city centre, on and around the city’s main street, Colombo Street...
, and in the towns of Lyttelton
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....
, Little River
Little River, New Zealand
Little River is a town in New Zealand on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury district.-Location:Little River is approximately 30 minutes drive from Akaroa on Banks Peninsula, a major South Island tourist destination, and 45 minutes drive from Christchurch. It is on State Highway 75, which links...
and Akaroa
Akaroa
Akaroa is a village on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name—the name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for 'Long Harbour'.- Overview :...
.
See also
- Christchurch City HoldingsChristchurch City HoldingsChristchurch City Holdings Ltd is a wholly owned investment arm of the Christchurch City Council. The council controlled trading organisations own and run some of the important infrastructure in Christchurch, such as the public transport and electricity delivery in the city.- Lyttelton Port...
, a wholly owned investment arm of the Christchurch City Council - Coat of arms of the City of ChristchurchCoat of arms of the City of ChristchurchThe Coat of Arms of the City of Christchurch, also known as the armorial bearings, is the official symbol of the City of Christchurch, New Zealand...
, granted to the Christchurch City Council in 1949