That was the message from Cityprom chief executive Steve Henty as discussion continues over a City of Launceston Council-commissioned report about building heights in the city.

A public meeting was attended by about 50 people in Launceston on Thursday night and a range of opinions and concerns were raised with the report’s author Paul Davies.

A current that ran through the public meeting was a concern Launceston’s character and heritage values would be undermined by any large-scale buildings built to the report’s recommendations.

Mr Henty said in its briefing, Cityprom conveyed a desire to see thoughtful design incorporated into any change to the planning scheme, in addition to any recommendation on building heights, to ensure Launceston’s character would still be maintained.

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“We should be making sure any change to those large-scale developments, the ones that will affect all of us, are encouraged to submit thoughtful design as part of the process.”

While Cityprom didn’t attend the public meeting, it had a private briefing this week with Mr Davies, alongside the Launceston Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Tasmania Development Corporation.

Launceston Chamber of Commerce executive officer Neil Grose said the chamber was still considering its formal response to the report and had attended two briefings on the matter.

“This is a significant but quite complicated piece of work and the chamber is currently seeking a range of views on the implications of the report and will make a detailed submission to council on the chamber’s views in due course,” he said.

“Any change to the way we plan for the city’s future needs to be carefully considered, not just for the immediate benefits or problems, but for future unintended consequences.”