Governance of place is, in local government terms, the phrase of the moment. Barry Quirk from Lewisham, champions it. Sir Michael Lyons advocates it. The White Paper, when it appears, will revolve around it.

But I suspect many councillors – not to say a few senior officers – still dismiss the phrase as the latest fancy and passing fad of metropolitan policy-makers. That would be a naïve and dangerous assumption to make.