Legal status of Tiwaiwaka Lane, Christchurch
Patrick Dunford made this Official Information request to Christchurch City Council
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From: Patrick Dunford
Dear Christchurch City Council,
This request concerns the legal status of an access road or driveway into a former CCC (now OCHT) housing complex in St Martins. As the Road Controlling Authority for Christchurch City, this information would be held by CCC.
Tiwaiwaka Lane does not have a separate title as would normally be the case with roads and therefore does not appear to be a road. Its design features make it appear similar to a driveway.
Please advise
(a) if Tiwaiwaka Lane is legally designated as a road
(b) What implication of the current legal status of Tiwaiwaka Lane is there for right of way and conflict between pedestrians and vehicles where the Lane crosses the public footpath on Wilsons Road.
Yours faithfully,
Patrick Dunford.
From: Official Information
Christchurch City Council
Tēnā koe Patrick,
Thank you for your request for information.
We are handling your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). We have forwarded it to the
appropriate Christchurch City Council staff, and we will provide a
response or update within 20 working days of the date we received your
request. Please note that the period between 20 December 2022 and 10
January 2024 do not count as working days. This timeframe will be taken
into account in our response, with information provided on or before 10
February 2025. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we
will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me using the
reference 1269504. If any additional factors come to light which are
relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact me so that
these can be taken into account.
If you have not had a reply within 10 working days, please email
[1][Christchurch City Council request email]
Nāku noa iti, nā
Jess Griffin
Official Information Advisor
Te Ratonga Ture me te Manapori - Legal & Democratic Services
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[2]Christchurch City Council logo
References
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1. mailto:[Christchurch City Council request email]
2. Christchurch City Council logo
https://ccc.govt.nz/
From: Official Information
Christchurch City Council
Tçnâ koe Patrick
On 21 December 2025, you requested the following information, under the
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA):
(a) if Tiwaiwaka Lane is legally designated as a road
(b) What implication of the current legal status of Tiwaiwaka Lane is
there for right of way and conflict between pedestrians and vehicles where
the Lane crosses the public footpath on Wilsons Road.
Is Tiwaiwaka Lane legally designated as a road
Under the Local Government Act (LGA) 1974 definition for road, Tiwaiwaka
Lane is not designated as legal road. It meets the definition for a
Private way under the LGA, and that is what OCHT applied for when they
applied for resource consent in 2019.
Refer to LINZ map – Primary Road Parcels. This shows land parcels that are
vested as road – ones within Christchurch are under the control of CCC or
NZTA (State Highways))
[1]https://data.linz.govt.nz/mapviewer/?mv....
What implication of the current legal status of Tiwaiwaka Lane is there
for right of way and conflict between pedestrians and vehicles where the
Lane crosses the public footpath on Wilsons Road.
Pedestrians (or any other road user) on the footpath have right of way
over drivers entering or exiting. Similarly, drivers entering/exiting must
give way to traffic on Wilsons Road.
In the Road User Rule 2004 (which lays out rules applying to road users
and to vehicles on the road), the definition of a driveway is
“driveway means a place used or appearing to be used as a vehicle entrance
to or exit from land fronting a roadway”.
As Tiwaiwaka Lane is used as, and has the appearance of a driveway, it
meets this definition. As such rules applicable to driveways are
applicable to Tiwaiwaka Lane, such as that drivers entering or exiting
would be subject to clause 4.4 of the Road User Rule 2004 (Giving way when
entering or exiting driveway)
[2]https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulati...
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review our
decision. Complaints can be sent by email to
[3][email address].
Publication of responses to LGOIMA requests
Please note: our LGOIMA responses may be published on the Christchurch
City Council website a month 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
[4][Christchurch City Council request email].
Nâku noa iti, nâ
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.
[5]Christchurch City Council logo
References
Visible links
1. https://data.linz.govt.nz/mapviewer/?mv....
2. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulati...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[Christchurch City Council request email]
5. Christchurch City Council logo
https://ccc.govt.nz/
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