Reserves for a future school and playground in Kingston have been earmarked by the Queenstown Lakes District Council as part of its Plan Change 25 process.
About 7500sq m was set aside as an "education precinct" for the Ministry of Education to use within the next 15 years.
The open space next to the proposed reserve could be shared by the school and community as a sports field.
QLDC senior policy analyst Ralph Henderson said if the ministry did not take up the precinct, the area would revert back to residential zone.
The ministry had the option of designating land elsewhere for a school if the deadline lapsed.
"We've been in consultation with the Ministry of Education and they're generally positive about identifying sites in areas of future growth but haven't gone through the analysis of preferred sites in Kingston."
Establishing a school was likely to encourage a permanent residential population in the township, Mr Henderson said.
Ministry spokesman Iain Butler, of Wellington, said there were no immediate plans for a school.
"We're asking QLDC to future-proof Kingston if future growth justifies another school."
Plan Change 25 aimed to provide for the orderly expansion of Kingston. There are about 200 dwellings in Kingston and there was room for another 100 within the township zone, according to the council.
Rezoning and installing reticulated water and sewage infrastructure could provide for an additional 650 homes, depending on section sizes.
Kingston school closed in 1983 because of dwindling numbers of pupils. Garston School is the nearest and seven of its 35 pupils live in Kingston.
This week, the strategy committee recommended to the full council that Plan Change 25: Kingston Village Special Zone be adopted for notification. Public notification was anticipated next month.
The proposed plan change was a joint venture between the QLDC and the developer Kingston Village Ltd.
The school site was marked on the structure plan, which allowed for some variation in road design and block later in the detailed design stage. The plan also featured a mix of high, medium and low-density residential areas, plus areas marked for employment, open space and visitor accommodation.
