The Government’s new artificial intelligence tool, Extract, promises to transform the speed and efficiency of the UK’s planning system. Capable of scanning text and reading maps in minutes, it could supercharge the ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes by 2029, set out in its Plan for Change. The research supporting Extract suggests that ‘a task that takes a trained officer 1-2 hours of manual work could now be completed by our AI, in under three minutes for about 10p.’*
In parallel, the UK government has also launched a £10 million initiative to develop an AI tool aimed at revolutionising the planning decision process. This tool, led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in partnership with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), will initially focus on straightforward householder developments, with plans to expand to other application types. The ambition is to reduce routine planning application processing times from the current eight weeks, for those minor applications, to around four and eventually achieve near-instant determinations for simple cases. The system is said to analyse material considerations, assess policy compliance, and generate reasoned recommendations – all while integrating with existing planning systems and remaining under the oversight of planning officers.
The scale of the housing challenge is stark. According to London Councils, almost 185,000 Londoners, one in fifty residents, are homeless or living in temporary accommodation, while around 320,000 households remain on social housing waiting lists. In this context, the ability to deploy cutting-edge technology that can convert handwritten planning documents and maps into usable data within minutes, is a welcome step forward for London’s communities.
The Government claims Extract could slash the 250,000 hours currently spent manually checking documents each year. If realised, this would remove one of the most persistent brakes on the planning system, lengthy administrative delays, helping to accelerate decisions, unlock stalled projects, and bring much-needed homes to market faster. The rollout of Extract has been positioned primarily as a breakthrough for housing delivery, with the aim to make it available for all councils by Spring 2026. Yet London’s economy is overwhelmingly service based, with the sector accounting for almost 95% of output, and its commercial property market faces pressing supply constraints, particularly for Grade A and Central Business District office space. In theory, Extract could also accelerate planning processes for commercial developments, bringing benefits well beyond residential schemes.
However, behind the headlines lies a more complex and challenging reality. The mayor’s office has already expressed doubts about whether the housing need figures for London, published in December 2024, are realistic. Despite these being reduced from the previous target of 98,822 homes, shortages of land, materials, and labour will still make it difficult to achieve the city’s revised target of 87,992 new homes. The existence of 32 boroughs, each with its own planning authority, priorities, and housing targets, creates a fragmented system that is inherently slow and expensive to navigate. The Towards a New London Plan consultation considers the new concept of ‘grey belt’, with the mayor confirming he has commissioned a London-wide green belt review to understand what land, including the identification of grey belt land, could be used to meet London’s housing needs in full.
This is likely to trigger a wave of planning applications along the city’s outer edges. Boroughs with green belt land will face particularly intense pressures, with applications likely to be contentious and politically sensitive.
The uncomfortable truth is that planning efficiency has been profoundly impacted by the fact that between 2013 and 2020, almost 25% of planners left the public sector. More recently, 82% of local authorities have cited difficulties in hiring planners because of financial restrictions, large workloads and the pressure of the job. So, whilst Extract will help to improve efficiency, its impact on a system already hampered by structural challenges, squeezed resources, and an expected upturn in appeals is likely to have limitations.
The impact of this talent drought is profound, and whilst Extract will help, we know that authorities will require additional resources to process the inevitable escalation in planning applications required to meet ambitious housing and development targets. The Government announced plans to support local authorities with 300 additional planning officers, but many consider this a drop in the ocean compared to the vacancies departments currently face.
To truly transform the planning process, an AI-enabled system must go beyond the capabilities currently outlined for Extract, therefore the announced AI initiative will hopefully kickstart this. The potential lies in using AI to validate applications instantly, preventing the submission of incomplete or incorrect documents, a problem that currently delays many applications. It should be able to summarise many complex documents, flag missing information, review site histories, and collate consultation feedback in minutes rather than days or weeks.
Equally, it could accelerate environmental assessments by analysing the potential impact of proposals on air quality, traffic congestion, biodiversity, and other key indices, providing faster, more consistent, and more transparent evidence for decision-making. AI is already starting to present opportunities for better consultation and tools for those submitting representations as part of the planning process.
Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Partnership, in partnership with the University of Liverpool, is pioneering an AI tool, a large language model (LLM), to improve community and stakeholder engagement. The tool can review and summarise thousands of comments submitted during the consultation period.
The Guardian reported on “AI-powered nimbyism” where the use of ‘Objector’ claims to offer policy backed objections in minutes using generative AI to scan applications and rank potential areas of objection and create committee speeches and videos to influence others. To some this may be seen as an additional barrier to development, to others it may be considered empowering.
Yet while AI could potentially align applications to policy frameworks, the subtle and often contested judgements that planning requires still depend on the experience and contextual understanding of skilled professionals.
Experienced, qualified planning officers are vital because the UK planning process is heavily reliant on professional judgement, which is its trademark.
Only experienced professionals have the skills and the experience to assess the merits of competing priorities, make informed decisions and ensure the interests of all stakeholders are optimised.
Whilst Extract will process data and an AI enabled planning system should one day be able to summarise and assess applications against policy, understanding the sensitivities and nuances of an application and making equitable decisions still requires judgement which can currently only be delivered by experienced planners. The long-standing mantra that “planning is about people and places, not just buildings and infrastructure” still holds true today.
However, the next generation of technology, Agentic AI, is already emerging, and with it comes the potential for more fundamental changes to the UK planning system. These systems promise more than data processing, using sophisticated algorithms, collaborative filtering, and contextual embeddings to interpret nuance, intent, and community context in real time. In theory, such systems could approach the reasoning capabilities of seasoned planning professionals, providing assessments that are not only faster but also richer in insight.
Imagine a world where NextGen AI solves problems autonomously, whilst continuously optimising its performance, adapting to changes and self-improving. Then, perhaps, there will be no need for planning officers, planning consultants and consultees where the current structural issues the planning system faces will evaporate. Such capability would dramatically shift the planning and development profession.
Before panic sets in and we all fear for our jobs, remember the science fiction predictions in the 1960s were that flying cars would be a reality by the end of the century. However, we have yet to see these on our streets. It’s also important to factor in that society and the world around us will also be very different as AI will revolutionise so much more than the built environment. Perhaps the reality lies somewhere between the two extremes, and our jobs remain safe, for a while at least.
* https://mhclgdigital.blog.gov.uk/2025/06/12/extract-using-ai-to-unlock-historic-planning-data/
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