Welcome to the first Place Bulletin of 2011 – a year in which it looks certain we’ll see many changes in the way our places are managed. The localism bill – part of the coalition Government’s Big Society agenda - will play a big part in this change, with local authorities and communities receiving greater autonomy to make their own decisions. To this end, the localism bill features heavily in this month’s issue. In addition to the story accompanying the launch of the Bill; we have news on the guide released to help Councils get to grips with the new measures, we also have a piece on how the Bill will encourage Councillor’s to become community champions by altering predetermination voting rules. Aside from the Bill, we have a piece on the new community infrastructure levy, an interesting Guardian article on the community enhancing attributes of the pop-up tea shop, and news of a new report which looks at the needs of European migrant workers based in the UK.