Section 5

Planning system basics

What can be built is decided locally. The map’s Identify tool reads live designations at a point; this page is the policy context around that.

Local Plans

Each of England’s roughly 300 local planning authorities sets its own Local Plan, allocating land for housing, employment and green space. This — not a single national zoning map — is the real determinant of what can be built where.

Green Belt

Around 12.5% of England’s land is protected Green Belt, where development is tightly restricted around major cities including London, Birmingham and Manchester, to prevent urban sprawl. The map can pull Green Belt and related landscape designations at a clicked point.

Use classes

Buildings are classified by permitted use (residential, commercial, industrial, etc). Some changes between use classes are allowed without full planning permission under permitted development rights; others always require formal consent.

Devolved nations

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each operate separate planning systems and local development plans, distinct from England’s National Planning Policy Framework.

For the consents you may still need after a Local Plan allocation, see the licences & consents checklist. To find who decides and how to read the application register (proposal, grant/refuse, documents), see planning permissions and local councils.