A Dunedin quarry company does not have a current resource consent to take stone from an iconic hill, the Environment Court has ruled.
Photo: DUNEDIN CITY COUNCIL
Dunedin City Council and the quarry operator, Saddle Views Estate, have been battling over a 56-year-old resource consent for the smaller hump of Saddle Hill.
The council took the quarry operator to court in 2011, arguing it did not have a valid consent to take the stone.
That decision was appealed to the High Court, and the case was re-opened.
The Environment Court has released its ruling, saying the company had been allowed to use stone in the 1960s to build Dunedin Airport's runways, but that consent was not still in force.
However, the court also said authorisation for current quarrying would depend on whether that was an existing use in 1970.
The case is likely to go back to court.
