Aldermen voted on Monday to allow Brile to pay a third of the $30,000 bill, after the company asked for the entire amount to be waived.

Any help council or other levels of government can provide to keep this long-mooted development moving is welcome.

Of course there will be people who think ratepayers and taxpayers should not have to support private development - that it should stand and fall on its own merits.

But the $20,000 discount is nothing compared to the $14 million the Hobart City Council gave to Myer and developer Emmanuel Kalis to rebuild that store.

Northern Tasmanians clearly want something done at the Charles Street site.

It has long been a bone of contention for Launceston; an eyesore that immediately snubs its nose at our city's motto "progress with prudence".

The new application is to subdivide the 1830s building from the development, allowing work to progress while a decision is made on the historic structure.

Developers had applied to demolish the Cordial Factory building but were knocked back by the Heritage Council last year.

A city's built heritage is vitally important to its history and sense of place. However, we should not be so stubborn about built heritage that we think it must be saved at any cost.

Sometimes the structures are too far gone or not important enough - the Boland Street cottages for instance - to put the time, effort and money into restoring.

The Cordial Factory is a large part of Launceston's colonial heritage; a link to a bygone era and one worth saving if possible.

That might not be so simple.

At least five different reports all concluded the building is beyond repair and should be demolished.

Striking the correct balance between conservation and progress is always going to be difficult.