What Does Government Mean by ‘Place’?

We’ve been asked a lot recently about what government means by the terms place, locality, and neighbourhood in the current devolution agenda. With the English Devolution White Paper, the invitation letters for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), and now the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, these words are appearing more and more. They are sometimes used interchangeably, which can cause confusion.

Here we explain what each of these terms means in context, and how they connect to the work of the Place Model workstream, and Parish & Town Councils, in Gloucestershire.

Place in the White Paper (December 2024)

The White Paper stresses that local councils should engage more robustly at neighbourhood or area level, with stronger expectations on town and parish councils as trusted voices for their communities.

Here, place is linked to community representation and empowerment: residents must have a real say in decisions that shape their locality, including valued assets and neighbourhood-level planning. Government also encourages existing community partnership structures to be used to give practical effect to this ambition. In other words, place is defined by lived communities and the relationship between councils and the people they serve.

Place in Gloucestershire’s Invitation Letter (February 2025)

The invitation letter from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government requires Gloucestershire’s principle councils to work together to design coherent unitary structures that reflect sensible geographies.

Proposals must show how they will deliver stronger community engagement and create “genuine opportunities for neighbourhood empowerment". In this context, place means configuring governance so that structures map onto communities that people actually identify with: large enough to be efficient, but local enough to maintain accountability and trust.

Why the Place Model Workstream Matters

Both the White Paper and the invitation letters create a clear demand for a practical framework to turn the principle of place-based working into reality. This is why the Place Model workstream was commissioned.

Its role has been to:

• Develop a framework for how place should be understood and operationalised, bridging the county/unitary scale and the parish/neighbourhood scale.

• Design governance options that satisfy central government’s criteria for community engagement and empowerment.

• Embed collaboration by exploring how councils, parishes, and community stakeholders can work together in ways that reflect identity and local need.

• Respond to the statutory requirement in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill for “effective neighbourhood governance.”

Place in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (10 July 2025)

The Bill defines place more in terms of the scale and structure of devolved governance. It creates new Strategic Authorities to channel powers and funding across whole areas.

At the same time, it requires all local authorities to establish “effective neighbourhood governance,” pushing decision-making closer to residents. Guidance confirms that parish and town councils will continue and should be central to this, with new neighbourhood structures designed to complement, not replace, them.

The Bill also re-states that parish and town councils are hyper-local democratic bodies, rooted in their communities, and confirms ongoing collaboration with NALC to strengthen their role in the devolution process.

"Neighbourhood Partnerships" in Gloucestershire

As part of this work, Gloucestershire has been developing a model of Neighbourhood Partnerships in direct response to the Bill’s demand for effective neighbourhood governance. These Partnerships are intended to provide the statutory framework that the government now expects, while drawing on local experience and county-wide consultation.

Other counties use different terms—Somerset has Local Community Networks, Cornwall has Community Area Partnerships—but the idea is similar: groupings of communities working collaboratively with unitary councils and partners to shape local priorities.

It’s important not to confuse these with central government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods, which is a regeneration programme for 75 towns. Gloucestershire’s approach is about day-to-day neighbourhood governance and engagement.

The Takeaway

Place consistently means organising governance and engagement around communities in ways that are recognisable, democratic, and empowering.

For parish and town councils, the message is clear: you remain at the heart of community representation. New neighbourhood governance structures will complement the role you already play, not replace it. The Place Model workstream is making sure Gloucestershire can show central government that our local arrangements are credible, compliant, and through GAPTC's involvement, that these arrangements are firmly rooted in the voices of Parish and Town Councils' communities.