TY - JOUR AB - Purpose– Seeks to analyse the complexity of current practices surrounding the management and governance of urban regeneration activities in the UK. In particular, aims to focus on the potential of initiatives decentralised to the sub‐local level that have been designed both to effectively manage public service provision and to improve citizen participation in local government management decision making.Design/methodology/approach– Explores the early experiences of local authorities' attempts to introduce “area committees” in line with the complex “modernisation” agendas advanced by the “New Labour” government under an overarching project of “new localism”.Findings– Highlights that new attempts at devolving power and responsibility to these sub‐local structures should be more flexible to local conditions rather than directed by national policy.Originality/value– Argues for a “middle way” to be adopted in managing local government and governance changes in order to develop a more “pragmatic localism”. VL - 18 IS - 2 SN - 0951-3558 DO - 10.1108/09513550510584982 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/09513550510584982 AU - Coaffee Jon AU - Johnston Lorraine ED - Jon Coaffee PY - 2005 Y1 - 2005/01/01 TI - The management of local government modernisation: Area decentralisation and pragmatic localism T2 - International Journal of Public Sector Management PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 164 EP - 177 Y2 - 2024/09/23 ER -