The study also listed a number of policy recommendations for council to adopt.

City of Launceston general manager Michael Stretton said other properties highlighted in the study which may otherwise received future heritage protections could have been legally demolished in the time since its publication in 2007.

“Whilst it is possible that some properties that may otherwise have ended up on the local list have since been legally demolished, we are not aware of any attempts having been made to list those properties in advance of development applications being received for their removal or development,” he said.

The Launceston Heritage Study published a detailed study on heritage issues and plans around the municipality, conducted in partnership with Paul Davies Heritage Architects – the author of the recent building heights report.

The study can be found on the City of Launceston council’s website.

The summary report recommended the Launceston City Council and the Tasmanian Heritage Council endorse and adopt the study, and undertake necessary planning amendments to incorporate its results.

Other policy recommendations included the preparation by council of detailed character statements and development guidelines for each conservation area, and heritage items in general.

A management strategy was recommended to provide efficient processing and assessment of applications for places affected by listings was also recommended, without the need for Tasmanian Heritage Council involvement in “minutiae”.

Clear guidelines and advice for owners to assist them understand the heritage value of their properties was another.

The study inventoried hundreds of local sites against the Tasmanian Heritage Act, including 23 specific precincts, for local heritage consideration.

Buildings with state significance were also studied.

Those inventories, respectively, run at 324 and 86 pages in length.

Changes to local heritage lists are made by an amendment to the planning scheme initiated by the relevant council, then assessed and determined by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission and subject to public consultation, a government spokesperson said.

Mr Stretton said the current work being undertaken by the City of Launceston is to review the existing list, identify key heritage precincts, and to consider whether further properties should be listed in the Planning Scheme.

“This work is considerable and will involve consultation with property owners once places of interest have been identified,” he said.

“Given the amount of work required, this is a five-year staged project.”

Sites listed in the inventories are arranged by street address, with an accompanying photo and notes on the style, era, and build materials, with each also marked against the criteria for heritage listing as outlined in caluse 16 of the Act.

Only one criteria is required to be met for the Heritage Council to determine a place has historic significance.

The study inventory includes only those with more than one, concluding it is more appropriate for places to satisfy multiple criterion.

“Significance requires a broad understanding of the overall values of a place and then placing a particular site or building within that context,” the study’s summary report reads.

“Only when the place contributes to the overall value, either as an element of the broader value or as having particular and individual value for other reasons, should it be placed on a register.”

One of the difficulties noted in the report was inconsistencies between properties with heritage listing and those neighbouring, some of which “appeared to be of equal value to those listed”.

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For consistency most of those sites were recommended for listing though the report suggest it could be more appropriate to de-list buildings as their heritage value may be more suited to precinct-level protections.

The study highlighted 23 of these precincts across the municipality including Cimitiere Street, Glen Dhu, Inveresk Wharf, and Trevallyn.

“Conservation areas recognise the special values of places and look to improve urban amenity through the retention and enhancement of heritage attributes and features,” the report reads.

“Launceston already has conservation areas in place that reflect some of the core values of those places of the city.

“This study recommends extending the existing areas and the creation of a number of new areas to reflect a broader range of heritage values.”

Policy recommendations laid out for conservation areas include that heritage items within them be retained in significant form, along with properties not listed where they make a contribution to the area’s character.

The alteration of buildings within conservation areas should also be designed to retain the planned form and detail of significant parts like roof form, joinery, and massing in relation to the streetscape and adjacent buildings, it recommends.

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