From mandatory to meaningful – insights on neighbourhood governance

Introduction

When we brought people together in October to explore what the Devolution Bill’s ‘mandatory neighbourhood governance’ could mean for councils, what struck me most was not just the range of experiences in the room, but the shared belief that this must be done with communities, not to them.

Across the discussions, it was clear that for neighbourhood governance to work, it must be rooted in trust, legitimacy, and co-production. The regulations may make it mandatory but the meaning comes from how we shape it together.

What we heard

Claire Ward, partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors and former monitoring officer, gave a legal view of what the Bill really means, reminding us that this isn’t about creating another tier. It’s about ensuring unitary councils stay connected to place so that decision-making happens close to the people it affects.

That opens up space for change, but the Bill offers direction without detail, leaving much to future regulations. Claire cautioned against defaulting to rigid area committees and urged councils to design models that are not only compliant but effective. She welcomed the word “effective” appearing in legislation — a sign that good governance must be both lawful and legitimate. Her challenge was clear: make neighbourhood governance an integral, constitutional part of decision-making, not an add-on, so that power is exercised transparently, safely, and with community trust.

Cllr Fiona Barrows, Leader and Chair of Frome Town Council, offered a powerful example of what neighbourhood governance can look like when communities act strategically in response to real pressures. Faced with growing financial deficits, Frome chose not to retreat into short-term fixes but to take a long-term, partnership-based approach. The council set out a coherent case for managing local assets and responsibilities closer to the community, grounded in Frome’s deep understanding of place and a genuine desire to collaborate with Somerset Council, not compete with it. Her reflections reminded us that neighbourhood governance is most powerful when it blends practical realism with community purpose: when local knowledge, collaboration and strategic intent come together to shape change.

Paul Brewer, Chief Executive at Adur & Worthing Councils, offered a systems leader’s view. His story of cross-party work, patient exploration and empowering Democratic Services teams to take the lead was a practical reminder that neighbourhood governance isn’t just constitutional reform – it’s cultural reform. It requires time, permission and a willingness to experiment within a framework of accountability. Paul described how creating space for officers and members to co-design, test, and learn together has re-energised the organisation’s democratic core — showing how culture change, not just structure change, builds the conditions for trust and collaboration.

And in the Test Valley video, Andy Ferrier (Chief Executive) and James Moody (Head of Strategy and Innovation) captured the spirit of it perfectly: don’t design neighbourhood governance in a vacuum. Start with the principles of good community development — relationships, belonging, reciprocity — and let the structures follow. They shared how their asset-based approach invites communities to define their own neighbourhoods and priorities, enabling the council to align support and resources around what matters locally. It was a reminder that governance grows stronger when it’s built from lived experience upward, not policy downward.

Watch their contributions.

So it's an opportunity, right?

The Bill gives us a once-in-a-generation chance to rebuild trust in local democracy. But there’s a choice ahead: we can make it a compliance exercise, with neat structures with tight rules or we can make it an invitation to rethink how power and governance work in practice.

If we get it right, neighbourhood governance can make power safe and meaningful. Safe, because it’s transparent, legitimate and accountable. Meaningful, because it’s connected to everyday life, parks, streets, community and people’s sense of belonging.

The balance between safety and meaning is the essence of good governance. It’s not about tidying up the system, it’s about creating the conditions where people trust that decisions made close to home are fair, transparent and genuinely connected to them.

What’s exciting (and daunting) is that there is no blueprint. The right model in Frome won’t be right in Rochdale or Worthing or Romsey. This work demands flexibility, humility and deep listening. It demands that we value the process as well as the outcome. The way we get there matters as much as where we end up. If the process is inclusive, transparent and grounded in shared purpose, the governance structures that emerge will have legitimacy baked in.

Personal reflections

One reflection that stayed with me after the event was about mechanisms. For a long time, I’ve focused on the values and principles that make neighbourhood governance work and have been wary of getting drawn into the mechanics of committees, boards or forums.

But this event discussion reminded me that existing structures can still have real value. Area committees, local forums or neighbourhood partnerships are not the enemy of change, they can be vessels for it. What matters most is the culture that surrounds them: whether they feel open, inclusive and connected to their communities; whether they embody shared leadership and mutual accountability.

If we can bring those values and ways of working to every mechanism, whether newly created or already established, then the form becomes less important than the function. It’s about making sure that however we organise decision-making locally, it expresses the same democratic spirit: safe, lawful, meaningful, and genuinely shared.

A shared call to action

For councils: start now. Map what already exists, parish and town councils, local forums, partnerships etc and bring people together to design something that feels authentic to your place. Build capacity where it’s thin, and don’t wait for the regulations to tell you how.

For government and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government: design the regulations as enablers, not constraints. Support plural models and fund the capacity that makes local decision-making real. The new duty will only succeed if councils have the resources and flexibility to adapt it to local context.

For all of us in the governance community: share learning, test ideas, and help make this a collective project. CfGS will continue to host conversations, connect practice, and champion what works and are committed to supporting councils and partners explore what this looks like in practice, developing patterns and examples that show how governance in any form, can hold those principles at heart.