The "unlawful" decision to merge a Christchurch school will see 70 per cent of its pupils "scatter" to other city schools, a court heard today.

A property owner and a builder who were meeting to assess earthquake damage found someone already at work on the house - stealing a hot water cylinder.

The Crown has bought the Christchurch property where the Pyne Gould Corporation building stood until it collapsed in the February 2011 earthquake.

John Key has some high-level support in his quest to get the UK to lift new visa restrictions on Kiwis. While London's mayor is on board, the British PM is not.

Emergency housing and shelters are struggling to cope with the growing number of homeless women and children in Christchurch city.

Four schools in some of the worst quake-damaged areas of Christchurch will be closed down and replaced by one super-school, Education Minister Hekia Parata announced today.

Campaigners fighting to save the Christ Church Cathedral say they will continue to oppose its demolition despite the church's decision to forge ahead with a new building.

Three men were charged by police.

Expensive commercial vehicles stolen in Christchurch are likely being sold back into the city's rebuild construction market, police have warned.

A 21-year-old will appear in court this morning charged with the burglaries and an arson of properties in the Christchurch residential red zone.

The Government has confirmed it will appeal a landmark High Court decision which ordered it to reconsider an offer for vacant, uninsured red-zoned land.

The Government has lost a landmark legal battle over its 50 per cent offer for vacant red-zoned Christchurch land and uninsured properties.

Editorial: What exactly is the holdup in Christchurch? A year has passed since the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority drew up a plan for the rebuild of the city centre but nothing seems to be happening.

A Christchurch pensioner "roughed up'' by armed police while protecting his quake-hit property has welcomed watchdog findings which slams the officers' actions.

Massive forces bent faults below the Canterbury Plains, jolting a sleeping city awake at 4.35am. The other world - that occupied by animals - got an almighty fright too.

Canterbury's rebuild was boosted by a lift in building consents, rising house prices and increased retail spending in the first half of the year, according to ASB's "Cantometer" index.

Homeowners who think the only issue with house insurance changes is the likely premium increase need look no further than Christchurch.

Campaigners battling to save the quake-crippled Christ Church Cathedral have vowed to keep fighting, despite a court ruling its demolition can legally go ahead.

The Government is set for a sizeable windfall from Christchurch residential red zone properties it has purchased.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee is off to San Francisco on Sunday for a series of meetings relating to both his earthquake and transport portfolios.

Earthquake-damaged houses in Christchurch at risk of severe flooding are having hazard notices placed on their land.

Cardboard pipes in Christchurch's new Cardboard Cathedral have been cut out and replaced, but a spokesman says "it's nothing to be worried about".