The latest twist in the long-running battle between the Dunedin City Council and Saddle Views Estate Ltd came earlier this month when the Environment Court declared the hill cannot be completely removed.
Much of the battle has been fought over whether there was ever a consent to quarry on the site and how much rock that consent allowed to be removed.
In coming to its decision, the court pointed to an ODT article from 1960, which was published amid fears the shape of the hill could be affected - which continues to be a concern of those fighting quarrying on the site.
The article, given the introduction ``Saddle Hill will not be losing its familiar shape at the expense of Momona airport'', quotes Mr A. D. Swainson, who was the then South Island manager of Downer, which was taking rock from the site for the airport.
The article said 50,000 cubic yards would be excavated, but this would not materially affect the hill's features.
The Environment Court sided with the council's interpretation of the article, saying it suggested there was a consent limiting how much could be quarried.
``If Downer's application, and therefore consent, had been for indefinite, continuing quarrying, it is unlikely that Mr Swainson would have said either that only 50,000 cubic yards of rock would be excavated, or that the quarrying would not `... materially affect the hill's features' let alone both,'' the decision said.
The court said it was possible, as was argued by counsel for Saddle Views Estate Ltd, Trevor Shiels, Mr Swainson was just trying to distance Downer from ``significant changes that might take place'' to the hill, but said this was a less likely explanation.
``Mr Swainson was a senior engineer with a very responsible position, not a public relations expert.
``We consider it is very likely he used his words without what is now called `spin','' the decision said.
The decision found consent had been granted in 1960 to start quarrying Jaffray Hill to supply about 50,000 cubic yards of rock for the construction of Dunedin Airport, but also that the consent was no longer in force.
Saddle Views Estate Ltd director Calvin Fisher, who has vowed to appeal the decision, previously said considerably more than 50,000 cubic yards of rock had been quarried from the site, concluding the total would be ``in excess of a million cubic metres''.
Last week Mr Fisher said he ``totally disagreed'' with preliminary conclusions about the lack of an ongoing consent and excavation limits.
``Consents were not granted in volumes and the council can't produce any one of them,'' he said.
It also had a right to quarry based on existing use rights.
