Editing Zoning (section)

===United Kingdom===
{{Main article|Development control in the United Kingdom}}

The United Kingdom does not use zoning as a technique for controlling land use. British land use control began its modern phase after the [[Town and Country Planning Act 1947|Town and Country Planning Act of 1947]]. Rather than dividing municipal maps into land use zones, English planning law places all development under the control of local and regional governments, effectively abolishing the ability to develop land by-right. However, existing development allows land use by-right as long as the use does not constitute a change in the type of land use. A property owner must apply to change land use type of any existing building, and such changes must be consistent with the local and regional land use plans.

Development control or planning control is the element of the United Kingdom's system of [[Town and country planning in the United Kingdom|town and country planning]] through which [[Local government in the United Kingdom|local government]] regulates [[land use]] and new building. There are 421 [[Local Planning Authority|Local Planning Authorities]] (LPAs) in the United Kingdom. Generally they are the local [[Borough status in the United Kingdom#Modern borough status|borough]] or [[Districts of England#Types|district council]] or a [[unitary authority]]. They each use a discretionary "plan-led system" whereby [[development plan]]s are formed and the public consulted. Subsequent development requires [[planning permission]], which will be granted or refused with reference to the development plan as a material consideration.<ref name="hirt">{{cite book |author=Hirt, Sonia A. |author-link=Sonia Hirt |title=Zoned in the USA: The Origins and Implications of American Land-Use Regulation |pages=63{{endash}}71 |location=Ithaca, New York |year=2014 |publisher=Cornell University Press}}</ref>

The plan does not provide specific guidance on what type of buildings will be allowed in a given location, rather it provides general principles for development and goals for the management of urban change. Because planning committees (made up of directly elected local councillors) or in some cases planning officers themselves (via delegated decisions) have discretion on each application for development or change of use made, the system is considered a 'discretionary' one.

Planning applications can differ greatly in scale, from [[airport]]s and [[new town]]s to minor modifications to individual houses. In order to prevent local authorities from being overwhelmed by high volumes of small-scale applications from individual householders, a separate system of [[permitted development]] has been introduced. Permitted development rules are largely form-based, but in the absence of zoning, are applied at the national level. Examples include allowing a two-storey extension up to three metres at the rear of a property, extensions up to 50% of the original width at each side, and certain types of outbuildings in the garden, provided that no more than 50% of the land area is built over.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200187/your_responsibilities/37/planning_permission/2 |title=Permitted Development Rights |publisher=United Kingdom Planning Portal}}</ref> These are appropriately sized for a typical three bedroom [[semi-detached]] property, but must be applied across a wide variety of housing types, from [[Two-up two-down|small terraces]], to larger [[Single-family detached home|detached properties]] and [[manor house]]s.

In August 2020, the UK Government published a consultation document called Planning for the Future.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/planning-for-the-future. |title=Planning for the Future |publisher=HM Government |year=2020}}</ref> The proposals hinted at a move toward zoning in England, with areas given a Growth, Renewal or Protected designation, with the possibility of "sub-areas within each category", although the document did not elaborate on what the details of these might have been. Nothing was done with these proposals and following the [[2024_United_Kingdom_general_election|2024 general election]] there are no plans for the UK to adopt zoning within its planning system.