27 Mar 2025

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Christchurch City Council is celebrating a major step forward for the city, as the annual Residents Survey reveals a significant rise in satisfaction levels with Council services.

Christchurch residents' overall satisfaction with the Council’s performance has risen by 7% over the past year.

“This is an outstanding result and we’re incredibly proud to serve this city,” says Mayor Phil Mauger.

“The positive feedback we’re receiving encourages us to continue delivering the best services we can, always with our community’s needs and aspirations at the heart of what we do.”

The survey highlights several key achievements:

  • 84% of Council services met their annual targets, the highest percentage since pre-earthquake times.
  • Overall satisfaction climbed to 53%, up from 46% last year.
  • 13 service areas achieved more than 85% satisfaction.

Some standout results include:

  • Education programmes and cemetery administration services (100% satisfaction)
  • Botanic Gardens and Mona Vale (99% satisfaction)
  • Libraries (96% satisfaction)
  • Council events support (95% satisfaction)
  • Recreation and sport facilities (91% satisfaction)
  • Customer services (86% satisfaction)
  • Water supply reliability and kerbside collection (84% satisfaction

"These achievements reflect the hard work, dedication, and passion of our staff,” Mayor Mauger says.

“Every day, they strive to go above and beyond for the people of Christchurch, and their efforts are making a tangible difference.”

The Council’s ongoing focus on community engagement and transparency has also seen positive results:

  • Satisfaction with leadership of the Mayor and councillors is up to 35%, from 27%.
  • Perceptions of openness and transparency have increased to 29%, from 21%.

“We’re encouraged to see our efforts starting to resonate with the community,” Mayor Mauger says.

“We’ve worked hard to connect with our residents, listen to their feedback, and take meaningful action. It’s heartening to see these efforts starting to pay off.”

While the survey highlights key successes, the Council is looking ahead to address areas for improvement, such as road and footpath conditions, and ensuring even greater value for ratepayer money.

“We have no illusions and know there’s still work to do, but these results give us confidence that we’re heading in the right direction,” Mayor Mauger says.

“Christchurch is a truly exceptional city – rich in history, culture, and community spirit. We feel incredibly privileged to call this place home and to serve its people.”

See a snapshot of the results here, and view the results in more detail at ccc.govt.nz/residents-survey

The Residents Survey programme involved three pieces of research – the Point of Contact Surveys done throughout the past year with 8889 responses, the Life in Christchurch booster survey of 159 respondents done in January 2025, and the General Service Satisfaction Survey with a representative sample of 784 people also done in January 2025.