Environment Court action involving the Dunedin City Council and Saddle Hill quarry owner Saddle Views Estates will go to mediation next week, following discussions between the two.
In April, the council lodged paperwork with the court seeking a declaration to clarify the legality of the Saddle Hill quarry, amid public concern quarrying activity was threatening permanent damage and destruction to Jaffrays Hill, the smaller of the two peaks of Saddle Hill.
Council senior planner John Sule said then the council had instructed its legal representative to write to the legal representative of quarry owner Saddle Views Estates, of which Calvin Fisher is the director, seeking an assurance it would not extend quarrying before the Environment Court date.
Yesterday, Mr Sule said a proposal for Environment Court mediation came from those negotiations.
The court had appointed a mediator, and the process would begin next Monday "to attempt to facilitate an outcome that is satisfactory to both parties".
