Community profile

Lyttelton

Census area unit: Lyttelton

Christchurch City

The Lyttelton area encompasses the northern harbour bay communities on the southern side of the Port Hills south of Christchurch. It includes the communities of Lyttelton, Corsair Bay, Cass Bay and Rapaki, located low on the slopes and linked by a main road skirting the bays. The Lyttelton Road Tunnel and Dyers Pass link the area to Christchurch. The area is characterised by significant tracts of reserves and farmland on steep terrain with basaltic outcrops. Lyttelton township is the main population and commercial centre and is built on sloping terrain, with its international seaport and associated trade located on reclaimed land. The small lot size and narrow streets reflect the town's 19th Century origins. A high proportion of housing stock predates 1945. Lyttelton Main School and Lyttelton West School are both full primary schools (Years 1-8). There are no secondary schools in the Lyttelton area. Zoning is for Linwood and Cashmere High Schools, however, secondary students attend many schools across Christchurch.

Key demographics

Ethnic groups in the area (%) (Data from 2006 Census, Statistics New Zealand)

Median personal income compared to Christchurch City (Data from Statistics New Zealand)

Employment status (%) (Data from 2006 Census, Statistics New Zealand)

Home ownership (%) (Data from Statistics New Zealand)

Family type (%) (Data from 2006 Census, Statistics New Zealand)

Usually resident population count (Data from Statistics New Zealand)

Dwell ing Owned or Partly

Owned by Usual

Resident(s)

Dwell ing Not Owned by

Usual Resident(s)

Family Trust

Not Stated

Couple without Children

Couple with Child(ren)

One Parent with

Child(ren)

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021 2026 2031

84.8

9.3

0.6

1.5

0.3

11.3

European

Mäori

Pacific Island

Asian

MELAA (Middle Eastern, Latin

American and African)

Other

%

Lyttelton Christchurch City

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

1996 2001 2006

Lyttelton Christchurch City

53.5

17.1

2.6

24.3

2.3

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0

Employed Full-

time

Employed Part-

time

Unemployed

Not in the

Labour Force

Unidentifiable

Social infrastructure mapping

P

The greater the size of the circle, the greater the impact and reach the organisation has within the community. Organisations which have a significant level of impact and reach are well spread across all sectors in Lyttelton. Nine meeting venues are important to the local community. Lyttelton business and residents' associations are strong and active in the community.

Within the Lyttelton area there are 80 organisations identified, consisting of 27 community organisations, 2 sports groups, 23 recreational/ leisure groups, 4 faith-based organisations, 4 residents’ groups, 2 business associations and 18 community meeting venues.

Lyttelton

Lyttelton

Community organisations

Sports organisations

Recreational / leisure

Faith organisations

Residents' groups

Business associations

Meeting venues

Community organisations

Sports organisations

Recreational / leisure

Faith organisations

Residents' groups

Business associations

Meeting venues

Social capital mapping

1a

1b

1c

2a

2b

2c

3a

3b3c

4a

4b

4c

5a

5b

5c

Community development organisations rating

1a Number of organisations (4) 1b Strength of organisations (4) 1c Community development principles (4)

Volunteering rating

2a Investment in volunteers (4) 2b Number of volunteer hours from Fundforce (4) 2c Number of volunteer hours from Census (3)

Connectedness rating

3a Number of neighbourhood support groups (3) 3b Number of residents' associations (4) 3c Access to networking groups/forums (4)

Participation rating

4a Community events (4) 4b Fundforce participation rates (3) 4c Club membership numbers (3)

Resilience rating

5a Preparedness/response plan in place (5) 5b Identified groups to lead local response (5) 5c Capability of groups to lead local response (4)

Post-earthquake land map Department of Building Housing (DBH) technical classifications as at 28 October 2011

Land condition in Lyttelton

The Port Hills did not suffer the same type of area-wide damage (liquefaction and subsequent lateral spreading) as the Canterbury Plains. The concerns in the Port Hills were around cliff collapse, land movement and land inundation, potential rock fall and retaining wall failure. This whole area initially had a 'white' zone designation, which meant more mapping and assessment was required but, in early September 2011, some residential parts of the Port Hills were rezoned to 'green', meaning that the repair and rebuild process could begin. In Lyttelton, 900 (61 per cent) of the non-rural residential properties were in this category. Non-residential properties were not included in the mapping work. The October 2011 rezoning announcement saw much of the land in the area keep its' green' or 'white' zone status, but with the additional DBH design classifications. In this area the 'Port Hills and Banks Peninsula' technical classification is applied. This means that normal building consent conditions are in place. Some properties which have been issued Section 124 notices, prohibiting entry due to localised geotechnical hazards, lie within this area. These notices still apply. In some cases whole streets have been evacuated.

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

j

k

l

m

Pre- and post-earthquake analysis

Pre-earthquake Post-earthquake

Social environment a. Community organisations 4 4 b. Community connectedness 3 4 c. Community participation 3 4

Built environment d. Housing stock 4 2 e. Roading infrastructure 4 2 f. Commercial/community infrastructure 3 2

Economic environment g. Local business/services 4 1 h. Access to local services 4 1 j. Local economy 3 1

Natural environment k. Air quality 3 3 l. Parks and spaces 5 2 m. Accessibility to natural environment 5 2

Pre-earthquake Post-earthquake

Impact of earthquakes Post-4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011

Natural environment

Lyttelton was not a mapped area following the September 2010 earthquake. Following the February 2011 earthquake, the main concerns for the reserves and farmland have been around cliff collapse, land movement and rock fall. The reserves above Lyttelton have been closed for recreation as assessment and mitigation procedures are undertaken on the estimated 9,000 rocks at 5,000 sites. The Lyttelton Harbour was out of bounds for recreational uses until recently, due to contamination.

Economic environment

Lyttelton township sustained considerable damage to its built environment, with the town shopping centre being particularly hard hit. The area was heavily cordoned while buildings were made safe or demolished, and this work is continuing. Few shops were open in the immediate aftermath, but businesses sprang up in alternative premises, relocatable buildings and wherever there was space; some are still in temporary premises. The supermarket is due to reopen in November 2011. Inevitably, some businesses have left the area and do not intend to return, and the hospitality sector, which was particularly strong, is now very quiet, with many hotels now demolished. The Lyttelton Port Company was able to continue its business getting vital supplies through to Christchurch within a few short days on both occasions, despite considerable damage to wharf structures. However, the cruise ship season has been badly affected, and the fact that nearly all of these ships are now redirected to Akaroa will have an impact on both the port and the local economy. The local arts have also been adversely impacted with the loss of performance space (for example, The Loons and The Harbourlight Theatre) and studio space. The Harbour Arts Collective is working on behalf of this sector to establish an arts precinct in Lyttelton. The Lyttelton Harbour Information Centre has been providing quality information regularly to residents about what is open (and where), what is not and what is being planned. The Farmer's Market has reported a considerable downturn in its weekly Saturday trading (reduction in both the numbers of stall holders and foot traffic), which impacts on the local shopping area. More recently some trade is returning since the Winter Festival and the Macbeth season, which brought Christchurch residents back to the township.

Social environment

The Lyttelton area is geographically discrete from Christchurch. During the earthquake events the area was physically isolated from Christchurch, in addition to experiencing power and water outages. Local emergency and social services, and community groups co-operated to ensure the safety of local residents. At the time of the February 2011 earthquake, Lyttelton was especially fortunate that the Royal New Zealand Navy was on manoeuvres, and were tied up in port. They remained and supported the local response effort. The three residents' groups in the Lyttelton area - Lyttelton Community Association, Corsair Bay Residents' Association and Cass Bay Residents' Association - have played an important role in sharing information and providing support within their communities, especially since the February 2011 earthquake. Community groups responded to need after the earthquakes by providing additional services (for example, reception duties during the emergency, a 'school' for secondary students, community meals to the elderly) whilst continuing their usual work. In many cases very good links have been forged and opportunities to collaborate have been seized. In addition, a local resident provided a regular (initially daily, then weekly), free bus service to a supermarket in Christchurch, prior to a direct bus link to Eastgate resuming in November 2011. A number of community groups are working from alternative premises due to damage sustained.

The Lyttelton area has a low reported crime rate, and although residents considered the area safe (Safer Christchurch Survey, December 2010), subsequent earthquakes may have impacted on their general feeling of safety. The Lyttelton Police rostered additional shifts to meet need due to the considerable damage sustained in February 2011. Neighbourhood Support groups are being set up in the area, and Civil Defence has seen an increase in volunteers, as has the Community Watch group. Lyttelton Tagbusters, an anti-graffiti group, has continued throughout. Meeting spaces are at a premium, especially for large gatherings, with the Recreation Centre stadium, church halls, the Fire Brigade Hall and the Lyttelton Main School hall unavailable. Owing to the lack of an appropriate performance space, a canvas dome structure was erected in one of the many vacant spaces for recent performances of Macbeth.

Built environment

In 2009 the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) awarded Lyttelton Category One Historic Area status, defined as "an area of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value". A number of its buildings independently hold heritage status. Many of the gazetted heritage buildings in Lyttelton have become progressively more damaged since the September 2010 earthquake, and are now in ruin. Of particular note are the three stone churches, the Lyttelton Timeball (dismantled) and the Lyttelton Police Station. In the September 2010 earthquake many brick structures failed and were dismantled. These included chimneys and brick partitioning walls between buildings, installed to reduce fire damage. Repairs had been largely completed by the time of the February 2011 earthquake. Heritage stone retaining walls – a special feature of the Lyttelton townscape - have been damaged, and some have failed entirely. These have been stabilised where possible. There are numerous gaps in the township where buildings previously stood, providing the opportunity for 'gap filler' projects to be undertaken, for example, The Loons held a very successful 'Macbeth' season in one vacant space, and a petanque club has been established in another. Another recent feature of the area is the location of temporary structures (for example, portable buildings, caravans) housing community groups, businesses and the fire brigade.

Future risks and opportunities The area relies on power, water and sewerage from Christchurch – each with just one conduit, and there is no fuel outlet in the harbour basin. In addition, one road links the bay communities and now, due to the closure of Evans Pass, road access options to Christchurch rely on the Lyttelton road tunnel or this one road, which is now also used for rerouted heavy port traffic. In February 2011, local residents were fortunate the Navy was in port and provided meals, and the supermarket provided perishable food and other goods. The earthquakes have reminded residents that the area can be isolated from outside services and help, and in an emergency local people must look to themselves for answers. In response, the emergency services (largely volunteers), Civil Defence and community groups have been looking at ways the communities can work more cohesively, utilizing already available capacity and ensuring self-sufficiency. Much was done very well in an ad hoc way, with community groups providing support, capacity and information in response to the emergency situations. The aim is to formalize these arrangements and ensure the safety of residents, especially the most vulnerable. Many of the earthquakes occurring since February 2011 have had epicentres in Lyttelton Harbour and the Port Hills. The area is still getting significant shaking from these locally-centred earthquakes. The area has large tracts of land in the 'white' zone and, as such, owners are awaiting reclassification in order to make decisions regarding their future. The empty spaces created by the earthquakes have provided the opportunity for the community to have good input into priorities for The Lyttelton Master Plan (part of the Suburban Centres Programme), which will provide a framework for redevelopment. The draft was recently adopted by the Christchurch City Council.