The survey follows authority leader Coun Mark Crane’s State of the Area Address, which outlined the council’s recent successes, as well as future challenges it faces.

A total of seven priorities were set out, which will now go out for consultation. They are:

q developing the council’s community engagement mechanism

q working with communities to provide a safer environment in which to live, work and play

q valuing the environment and reducing SDC’s carbon footprint

q reducing council expenditure by a series of balanced measures

q providing a better balance in the housing market to provide access to homes for those who want and need them

q giving leadership on the issue of an eco-town; and

q continuing to improve street cleanliness.

Coun Crane said: “By focusing our work on a small number of key priorities, we can ensure we’re able to deliver on the services that matter to local people and local businesses.

“We’ve already recorded significant success with previous years’ priority work. For example, in the past we’ve focussed on offering better recycling services and have managed to support residents to increase the amount of material recycled.

“And street cleanliness was identified as a key area for residents, so we put in place measures to improve this – street cleanliness is now at an all-time high.”

Hundreds of residents and businesses will be quizzed during the consultation. People can also have their say by logging-on to the www.selby.gov.uk website. A series of public meetings will also be held next month.