Dunedin funeral company Hope and Sons, and residents opposed to the company's plan to build a cremator in South Dunedin, will probably have to wait until next year for any final resolution on the development.
But first, the company must wait for Environment Court Judge Jon Jackson to make a decision on whether it needs to make one appeal or two.
Hope and Sons last month appealed a decision that declined its proposal to build the cremator near South Dunedin homes and businesses.
The company was declined resource consent after a May hearing at which it applied to the Otago Regional Council for a discharge to air consent, and to the Dunedin City Council to establish and operate the cremator.
The consents for the cremator, to be built at the Andersons Bay Rd business, were declined on grounds it could be detrimental to air quality and breach cultural, spiritual and amenity values.
A hearing last Friday dealt with the issue of whether the two applications to the different councils meant the company should file two notices of appeal.
Dunedin City Council counsel Michael Garbett said legal representatives were waiting for a written decision on that matter.
A timetable for exchange of evidence would be organised, but a hearing was unlikely to be set down until next year.
