Tēnā koe T Dobbie,

 

Thank you for reaching out regarding your request through FYI.org.

 

It appears that we never received your initial request, we've done a
search of our systems and could not find this request. It may be that the
original request was marked as spam or did not make it through our
firewalls. In future, please feel free to reach out to us at
[1][email address] if you do not receive acknowledgement
of your request within 10 working days.

 

Council response

Please note that Christchurch City Council does not hold any information
related to Electric Magnetic Fields as this is not a function of our
agency. Due to this, we will be declining this request under section 17(e)
of the LGOIMA, the information requested does not exist or cannot be
found.

 

You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review our
decision. Complaints can be sent by email to
[2][email address].

 

Ngā mihi nui,

 

Jess Griffin
Official Information Advisor
Te Ratonga Ture me te Manapori - Legal & Democratic Services

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

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solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
The views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and
may not necessarily reflect the views of the Christchurch City Council.
If you are not the correct recipient of this email please advise the
sender and delete the email.

[3]Christchurch City Council logo

References

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2. mailto:[email address]
3. Christchurch City Council logo
https://ccc.govt.nz/

Tēnā koe T Dobbie,

 

On 28 May 2026, you requested the following information, under the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA):

 

Who owns the poles on the streets around Christchurch?

AND

Who owns the equipment on those poles?

 

Release of information

Assets such as poles, signage, cameras, and typical street lights on the
streets where Christchurch City Council are the Road Controlling Authority
(RCA) are usually owned and maintained by Christchurch City Council. There
are instances where other agencies will have agreements with Council to
operate assets on our roads and footpaths. For example, assets belonging
to electrical companies such as Orion and Chorus operate across RCAs.

 

Please note that Christchurch City Council is not the only RCA for the
streets of Christchurch, State Highways and some other main arterial
routes are owned and operated by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency
(NZTA). Any assets along roads where they are the RCA belong to NZTA.

 

In some circumstances, the RCA may be a private individual or company.
This is often the case in large developments. Often the developers will
own the roads until they are handed over to the local Council.

 

To generalise, ownership often looks like the below:

 

RCA RCA RCA
CCC NZTA Police Orion Chorus Private Other Notes
Poles Typical ✓         ✓   some areas are
streetlight privately owned and
(stand-alone) maintained, but some
areas have CCC
agreement to
maintain.
Multiple
configurations from
single, double arm,
decorative/heritage,
and differing
materials, metal,
concrete poles
Street light   ✓            
pole on state
highway
(stand-alone)
Poles with       ✓        
cross arm at
the top to
hold cables
running along
the
street/road
Poles across         ✓     cables usually cross
the street the street/road from
from Orion Orion poles
poles with
some cables
Orion/Chorus ✓     ✓ ✓     poles belong to
poles with Orion or Chorus but
attached attached streetlight
streetlights belongs to CCC (arm
and light)
Signs Signs on ✓              
normal
street/roads
Signs on   ✓            
state
highways
Signs on ✓         ✓   usually private, but
private some areas could be
street/roads CCC
Cameras Majority of ✓   ✓         shared with Police
cameras in
the city
State Highway   ✓            
Police     ✓         have own network
Others             ✓ unknown

 

For an example on how this can look on a single street please see the
below picture where:

o Red arrow – Orion pole (houses main cables)
o Yellow arrow – Chorus pole
o Blue Circle – CCC Streetlight (attached to Orion pole)

 

Examples of the types of street light poles on the roads that Christchurch
City Council owns can be found below:

 

Pole streetlight. Double arm (CCC)

 

Pole streetlight - stand-alone (CCC)

 

Decorative/Heritage (CCC)

 

You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review our
decision. Complaints can be sent by email to
[1][email address].

 

Publication of responses to LGOIMA requests

Please note: our LGOIMA responses may be published on the Christchurch
City Council website a week after they have been responded to, with
requesters’ personal details withheld. If you have any concerns about
this, please contact the Official Information team on
[2][Christchurch City Council request email].

 

Nāku noa iti, nā

 

Jess Griffin
Official Information Advisor
Te Ratonga Ture me te Manapori - Legal & Democratic Services

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

This electronic email and any files transmitted with it are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
The views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and
may not necessarily reflect the views of the Christchurch City Council.
If you are not the correct recipient of this email please advise the
sender and delete the email.

[3]Christchurch City Council logo

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Christchurch City Council request email]
3. Christchurch City Council logo
https://ccc.govt.nz/