and the occasional two-storey villas, some brick single-storey dwellings, wooden bungalows, and a few Art Deco houses. There are a number of larger houses on Fisher Avenue. Many houses throughout the suburb have well established front gardens. The streets are relatively wide, with many mature street trees, including London Plane trees. Some subdivision has occurred with new houses located behind the original houses with separate driveways and associated fencing. The trees on Fisher Avenue and Norwood Street contribute to Beckenham by creating a pleasant street appearance. Flooding issues Beckenham's location on the banks of the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River means that streets along the river are prone to flooding during heavy rain events, like many suburbs in the lower reaches of the Ōpāwaho. The Christchurch City Council continues to implement flood mitigation strategies to lessen the impact of this. Demographics Beckenham covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Beckenham had a population of 2,403 at the 2018 New Zealand census, a decrease of 39 people (-1.6%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 48 people (-2.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 897 households. There were 1,125 males and 1,275 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.88 males per female. The median age was 41.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 492 people (20.5%) aged under 15 years, 396 (16.5%) aged 15 to 29, 1,149 (47.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 363 (15.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 93.4% European/Pākehā, 6.2% Māori, 0.9% Pacific peoples, 3.4% Asian, and 2.9% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 24.0%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 61.7% had no religion, 29.8% were Christian, 0.7% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 747 (39.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 198 (10.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $39,000, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,005 (52.6%) people were employed full-time, 342 (17.9%) were part-time, and 48 (2.5%) were unemployed. Churches Beckenham Baptist Church The Beckenham Baptist Church was built on Colombo Street at a cost of 3600 pounds and could seat 210