The Ministry of Education remains tight-lipped on where it plans to build another school in the Wakatipu.
The Queenstown Times requested a copy of the site evaluation report intended to help the ministry in identifying a suitable primary school site in the basin, under the Official Information Act.
However, the request was declined in writing this week for two reasons, the ministry said.
The first reason was to "protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied, or who is the subject of the information".
The second reason given was to "withhold information to enable the ministry to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial negotiations".
Schools' infrastructure group general manager Kim Shannon, of Wellington, said in the letter the ministry did not consider the withholding of site evaluation information was "outweighed by other considerations which would render it desirable in the public interest to release the information".
The rebuff came soon after a private meeting between Ladies Mile landowners and ministry representatives.
A 2007 archaeological assessment of the Ladies Mile Partnership residential development reported the partnership planned to develop a low-density residential suburb within the flats and lower terraces of the Lower Shotover and Ladies Mile area.
The 130ha site was intended to include educational facilities, the report said.
The ministry also supported Remarkables Park Ltd's bid for resource consent to expand its Frankton development because it aligned with the ministry's plans for a new high school, it emerged during the hearing for private plan change 34 in September.
The reduced "band-aid" enrolment zone around Remarkables Primary School took effect on April 23 in an attempt by the ministry to reduce pupil overcrowding in the 2-year-old school.
