NEARLY 40 people including six Byron councillors counting Mayor Simon Richardson attended a community forum to discuss the future of the dilapidated Bangalow Weir last Monday night.

The forum heard details of the four options proposed by WBM, an engineering firm hired by the council to report on the weir's future.

Community members heard about a number of options ranging from $115,000 for the weir's removal, through to $415,000 to raise the weir wall to the original height of 1.5m.

One of the organisers, Terry Bleakley from the Bangalow Historical Society said one of the main questions to come from the meeting was whether it would be necessary to include a fish ladder as part of the remediation work.

He also said he believed most at the meeting wanted the site to remain a place where the community could swim.

"The community seems accepting of the fact that the weir will never look the way it did in its heyday during the '50s and '60s, but that it must be a swimmable solution," Mr Bleakley said.

"They also believe that any decision should happen soon before further damage occurs.

"And given that the weir is a tourist attraction we must be mindful of the fact that whatever we do there will have implications for the rest of the region not just Bangalow."

"It's now up to the people of Bangalow to decide what they really want.

"I would encourage them to make their views known through the letters pages of local media such as the Byron Shire News."

For full report go to councils website at byron.nsw.gov.au and to make comments send to: editors@heartbeat.net.au