Putting Place First: Rethinking Town Centres in the UK’s Devolution Agenda
Just weeks after the local elections and amid growing momentum for local government reorganisation, the Institute of Place Management convened a national online event to explore a critical question: What role should town centres play in the UK’s evolving devolution agenda?
Chaired by Ian Harvey, Head of the Institute, the session brought together speakers from national bodies, local councils, and civic organisations to reflect on the future of neighbourhood governance and the implications of the Plan for Neighbourhoods, recently launched by the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (ICON).
Opening the event, Ian noted that the discussion came six months after the House of Lords published its latest report on town centres, and just one week after the High Streets Task Force shared its final findings-both calling for a clearer national strategy and stronger place leadership. Against this backdrop, a shared message emerged: we must put ‘place’ at the heart of devolution.
Several speakers challenged the idea that towns should simply adapt to the consequences of devolution, rather than shape its design. Graham Galpin, well known for his work with the Timpson Review of Town Centres started by drawing on recent IPM member conversations, warned that many towns still lack the formal place-based governance structures- such as place partnerships - and many places did not have the necessary place leadership skills needed to lead our town centre. Graham said that the roundtables recognising the tensions between local identity and imposed structures.
“Too many places are left navigating reorganisation without a voice,” Galpin said. “And where they do speak, they often speak into a vacuum.”
Andrew O’Brien, Head of Secretariat at ICON, set out the direction of the Commission’s Green Paper, which proposes a national framework for neighbourhood renewal. He called for long-term investment in social infrastructure, deeper community participation, and more democratic accountability.
“If we’re serious about levelling up, then neighbourhoods can’t be left out,” he said. “We need to rewire how government thinks-so that planning, funding, and power are grounded in local realities.”
O’Brien called for a shift away from short-term, competitive grants towards strategic partnerships that empower places to plan over the long term.
Justin Griggs, of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), highlighted the underused potential of town and parish councils, many of which are excluded from devolution strategies despite being the closest form of democratic governance to local communities. He also emphasised the brilliant and often unrecognised work that many of these councils are already delivering on the ground-whether through neighbourhood planning, running community assets, or responding directly to local needs.
“We have the foundations of local democracy in place,” he said. “Yet they are routinely overlooked.”
Sandie Webb, Chair of the Chippenham Town Team, shared how parishes in Wiltshire joined forces to form a local alliance, giving them greater influence with the unitary authority. “Rather than waiting to be included, we created our own space in the conversation,” she said.
Matthew Colledge, former Leader of Trafford Borough Council, echoed several point but from his experience in Greater Manchester. Matt has also been Chair of Transport for Greater Manchester, Vice Chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and held position on the regions LEP and Housing Boards. He emphasised that transformation didn’t come from governance structures alone, but from long-term local advocacy and alignment between vision, leadership, and investment.
Jean Ball, a Senior Fellow of the Institute and speaking from Buxton, supported stronger local voice but warned against one-size-fits-all solutions. She argued that governance must respect the identity and context of each place. “We must respect local context. Governance should reflect community identity,” she said. Jean also highlighted how devolution could end up worsening spatial inequalities, with town centres and left-behind places at risk of further marginalisation if local governance is not properly supported.
Across the session, three key themes consistently emerged - each underscoring the vital role of place in national renewal:
Place is where the policy becomes practice: From housing to health, economic inclusion to climate action, the impacts of devolution are not abstract. They are lived in place - in the streets, neighbourhoods, and high streets where people live, work, learn, and belong. Town centres and neighbourhoods are not peripheral - they are central to making national change tangible, visible, and sustainable. When government policy fails, they see the impact in there place.
Flexibility must be place-sensitive: Contributions questioned where power should sit, with critique of combined authorities and mayoralties as potentially distant or disconnected from lived realities. A national framework can offer structure, but it must allow for local variation. The best outcomes are delivered when governance and funding models align with place identity, and community context. One-size-fits-all solutions risk undermining genuine participation. The real challenge is how to create governance structures that work everywhere, when no two places are the same. To give people a meaningful voice, government must start by building on what already exists - strengthening local partnerships, councils, and civic networks rather than imposing new models from above.
Power must come with place-based voice: As people turn away from traditional politics, many are finding purpose closer to their 'place' seeing their neighbourhoods as the places where change is possible. Yet devolution often moves power upwards to mayors, not outwards to communities. To make devolution meaningful, we must build on existing local structures and ensure decisions are made where people live, learn, work and play.
Next steps
The Institute of Place Management will submit a formal response to the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods’ Green Paper consultation, which remains open until Friday 25 July 2025. Attendees were also invited to join a dedicated IPM working group on town centre governance and to share further reflections.
Contact Graham Galpin at graham.galpin@placechanger.co.uk
About the author
Formed in 2006, the Institute of Place Management is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better.