Chas Fellows’ column JUST over a month ago I mentioned that we were about to put together a blueprint for the whole of the district and how your input was crucial.

Well, the time has arrived.

Over the next week, council tax bills will be landing on doormats across the country.

It is the only tax that we have to pay directly from our pockets.

Others, such as PAYE and VAT, are taken at source, so we never see the money in the first place – so paying council tax always hurts.

As a legal requirement we also provide you with accompanying information on how your money is spent. Some people read it and some don’t but this year there’s another reason to read the extra information that comes with the bill.

We’ve included a leaflet entitled, ‘Your district, Your future’, and it’s worth a read.

Whether or not you’re happy with the services you receive from the district, county, town/parish councils, and the police, you have the opportunity to give us your views so that we can plan a better future.

Key areas of focus are employment, housing, roads, transport, education and nature.

You’ll be able to comment online or by post. The leaflet will explain how to do it.

The deadline for your feedback is Friday, May 1, and over the next few weeks we’ll be working with the SNJ/Gazette to encourage everyone to put their views forward.

This is a huge project.

Even after the May deadline there’s still a great deal of work and consultation to do.

The end result will help us put together a long-term sustainable strategy for the future, in which everything that comes together to make the place we live and work has been carefully considered, so that we, and future generations, can all reap the benefits of the outcome.