The Dunedin City Council has voted to return the issue of quarrying on Saddle Hill to court and rejected a recommendation to relax restrictions on the quarry's owners.
The return to court for the long-running conflict over how much can be quarried from the lower of Saddle Hill's two humps, Jaffray Hill, comes after the High Court last year ruled there was a consent for quarrying, but asked both parties to reach a consensus on conditions.
At an extraordinary meeting last week, councillors voted to leave the decision on resource consent conditions up to the Environment Court after no agreement could be reached with quarry owner Saddle Views Estate Ltd.
However, they voted against a staff recommendation to increase the area which could be quarried on the lower part of the hill.
Speaking after the council's decision, Saddle Views Estate Ltd director and quarry owner Calvin Fisher said he was disappointed but not surprised at the outcome.
