The missing tier? Hyperlocal governance in England
Researcher
Today we have heard about six new areas coming together in the Devolution Priority Programme. This is an important step on the road towards 'filling in the map' at the regional level. But below this level there is a missing tier which also needs addressing.
This tier can be seen throughout everyday life: walking through the park, sheltering under a bus stop in the rain, heading home along a well-lit street. These small moments shape how we feel about where we live. They matter. And ideally, they should improve over time. The good news? They can.
When people think of politics, they often picture people in suits rushing in and out of Westminster. While your local MP represents your area, they are responsible for an average of 72,000 constituents and juggle a wide range of national and parliamentary duties. The finer details of your neighbourhood — the state of verges, the upkeep of bins, the quality of community spaces — are rarely their primary focus. Neither should they be.
It stands to reason that hyperlocal issues require hyperlocal attention. County councillors, who may be representing an average constituency of 170,000, will inevitably be juggling broader responsibilities. At the same time, local authorities are under severe financial strain, with most funding ploughed into statutory services like adult social care and homelessness support. If the same entity is required to manage both these services and neighbourhood-scale concerns, you can guess which is going to drop off the radar more often.
The trend toward larger, consolidated local authorities — reinforced by the English Devolution White Paper — pushes decision-making even further from communities. While some efficiencies may well be gained, the risk is clear: the needs of individual neighbourhoods become diluted.
Some areas are fortunate to have strong, well-resourced town councils dedicated to hyperlocal issues. Alcester Town Council, for example, offers a glimpse of what effective, community-led governance can achieve. From setting up lunch clubs in the community centre to providing a health and wellbeing coordinator, it delivers citizen-focused services tailored to local needs. This kind of governance has the power not just to manage local concerns, but to help shift public services toward a more preventative model — one that addresses social challenges at the neighbourhood level before they escalate.
Yet 60 per cent of England lacks anything resembling this kind of governance. In many places, town and parish councils exist in name only, held back by resource shortages and outdated processes.
A reimagined, empowered hyperlocal state could transform our homes, streets, and public services. It will require significant reform for a responsive, credible, and deeply embedded tier of ‘community councils’ to emerge.
Our upcoming paper will explore how this might be achieved. Stay tuned.