New AI planning tools have been unveiled by the government to ‘modernise England’s planning system’.

One is a new AI prototype that aims to halve the time it takes to process householder planning applications – down from eight to four weeks in an average case.

Created by government with Google DeepMind, Google Cloud, AI specialist Faculty and local planning authorities, it is now being tested at three councils – Dorset, Barnet and Camden.

The prototype triages applications, summarises key information and provides planning officers with an initial assessment they can consider when making their decision.

The second AI tool is called Extract, which is now available to all councils in England.

It uses AI to help planning officers convert decades-old planning documents and maps, sometimes with handwritten notes, into readily useable data.

KPPC Planning Director Adam Bennett said: “It is going to be interesting to see how the three pilot test councils, including our own local Dorset Council, implement the use of this AI tool.

“As a means of pulling together quickly the historic planning context of a site and distilling what the important considerations are, in simpler cases of Householder Applications, there is clearly merit in giving Planning Officers a means to get all of the information in front of them as efficiently as possible so that a decision can be made.

“This will clearly not remove the need for expert planning judgement and the balancing of the material considerations, but if the fact finding stage is automated there are clear benefits for applicants with the ability to navigate the planning stage quickly and realise their development sooner.

“I can see clear negatives to this approach also however. Most, if not all planners, with some experience working in local authority, or indeed in private practice, will have cut their teeth on smaller householder and minor applications, learning how to research the planning history, what things are and are not relevant and learning how to describe and understand the planning context of a development an draw together what are the relevant considerations to reach a professional judgement.

 “There is a risk of these vital skills being lost. Knowing where to look for the relevant information and what you should be considering are important skills that are required in considering development proposals and applications of all sizes and complexities.

“Used in the right way AI will be able to supplement this, but it should not replace the valuable learning exercise, mistakes and all, at the early stages of a planner’s career.

“After all, AI is only as good as the person piloting it. If you do not know already what you should be looking for how can you reasonably judge whether the information it has produced is correct or indeed tells the whole story.

“It will certainly be great and telling you what is black and white, but so much of planning sits firmly within the grey…

“We will be watching eagerly to see how this evolves and whether it leads to both improved quality and speed of decisions from local authorities over time and thus improved outcomes for our clients. Ultimately the latter being what we are all striving for.”

According to the government, householder applications account for nearly 70% of the 350,000 planning applications submitted in England each year.

It says that by reducing the time spent on straightforward cases, the prototype being tested in Barnet, Camden and Dorset could help planning officers focus more on complex applications, including new housing and major developments communities rely on.

If successful, the technology will be rolled out nationwide by 2027 – with every assessment reviewed and approved by a qualified planning officer before any decision is made.