New Launceston alderman Janie Finlay wants a period of public consultation before the old woolstore is demolished to make way for developer Errol Stewart's silos' development.

Some people want to save the woolstores. Alderman Finlay says she hasn't got a view either way, but believes there should be a renewed mandate among the rookies of the new look council, plus a period of public consultation.

Nothing wrong with those sentiments. She says her consultation period would have a time caveat, concerning the old structure, which incidentally is not heritage listed.

The North Bank development, together with the Penny Royal redevelopment has the potential to electrify Launceston's tourism, with badly needed investment spawning construction and tourism jobs.

The woolstore complex is an eyesore, just like the C. H. Smith building. The people who want to save these crumbling, unused relics are the same people who are trying to glorify the "beauty" of Henty House and the Eastern European style ugliness of 10 Murray Street in Hobart.

Prevaricating over a structure that wouldn't raise a tear if it burned to the ground is sending the wrong signal to investors, and fails the commonsense test.

Tasmania especially has a rich heritage worth preserving.

As one of Australia's oldest cities, Launceston is blessed with a colonial-based heritage other cities would kill for.

The old woolstores somehow don't fit the picture. They can be allowed to just sit there in a perpetual state of decay, without extensive restoration, or they can make way for a major tourism development.

Those who want to preserve for preservation sake can firstly say how they plan to arrange the future of Launceston's young job seekers.