Ranzau School will stay rural with the Ministry of Education scrapping plans to move it to a planned larger site at The Meadows.
The 3ha site was purchased by the Labour government in 2020, and the relocation of the Hope-based school was mooted to meet climbing population in the Waimea catchment.
The move was originally planned to be completed for the start of the 2026 school year.
Then education minister Chris Hipkins said the area would need to cater for a further 320 primary school places by 2028, a figure expected to more than double by 2048.
However, plans for the proposed 300-student school stalled under National.
In 2024, the ministry announced there was no timeframe for the new build and it was not prioritising funding for the project.
In late December last year, the Government announced the outcome of a private litigation proceeding relating to a historic ownership arrangement of land in the Nelson, Motueka and Golden Bay areas, known as the Nelson Tenths.
The Ministry of Education says, as part of the resolution, the Crown is returning land to the plaintiff, represented by Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust, including the undeveloped Richmond West site.
“Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust was open to leasing the Richmond West site to the Ministry,” it says.
“The ministry decided it was not financially prudent to lease the site for a new build. We are exploring other options to address roll growth in the area.”
Ranzau School board of trustees head Ephraim Jacobsen says the decision will have no ramifications for the school.
“We were invited by the ministry to move to that new site. That was an opportunity which hasn’t eventuated, and that’s fine,” Ephraim says.
“We’re always open to discuss other opportunities with the ministry, but we’re very comfortable where we are and focused on education at our current location.”
Ephraim says the school’s roll currently sits between 100 and 110 students, fluctuating between 100 and 120 since 2020.
Historically, the school has yearly accommodated more than 160 students.
