MHCLG hopes to halve householder planning application times with AI tool

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is trialing an AI tool, Augmented Planning Decisions, designed to halve householder planning application processing times from eight to four weeks. Developed through an £8.2m contract with Google Cloud, DeepMind, and Faculty, the tool is being tested by Barnet, Camden, and Dorset councils, with plans to expand to 10 more councils and roll out across England by 2027. The ministry also opened its Extract AI document digitisation tool to all English councils.

Barnet, Camden and Dorset councils take part in trials of artificial intelligence Augmented Planning Decisions service, as government ministry opens Extract document digitisation tool to all local authorities across England The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is trialling an artificial intelligence tool designed to halve average processing times for householder planning applications from eight to four weeks. MHCLG is funding development of the Augmented Planning Decisions service through an £8.2m contract with Google’s Cloud and DeepMind divisions, along with London-based delivery partner Faculty, which was recently bought by global consultancy Accenture. The ministry started early stage trials with Barnet, Camden and Dorset councils in May and, if these are successful, it plans to add up to 10 more councils later this year then introduce the service across England in 2027. The government said that requests made by householders account for nearly 70% of all planning applications and that reducing the time spent on these could allow planning officers to focus on more complex submissions such as new housing and other major developments. All the AI system’s assessments will be reviewed and approved by qualified planning officers before final decisions. “Our planning system remains heavily reliant on cumbersome paper-based processes that consume the time of expert planning officers and cause delays on even the most routine types of application,” said housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook. “We are dragging the system into the 21st century by harnessing the power of AI to streamline the planning application process, freeing up planners to make quicker and better decisions and reducing unnecessary delays.” Related content Dozens more councils join digital planning initiative https://www.publictechnology.net/2025/10/07/communities-housing-and-planning/dozens-more-councils-join-digital-planning-initiative/ MHCLG signs potential £75m deal for ‘development of digital elections services’ https://www.publictechnology.net/2026/03/13/government-and-politics/mhclg-signs-potential-75m-deal-for-development-of-digital-elections-services/ Fixing the foundations and readying for reorganisation – five things we learnt at Socitm President’s Conference https://www.publictechnology.net/2026/06/19/communities-housing-and-planning/fixing-the-foundations-and-readying-for-reorganisation-five-things-we-learnt-at-socitm-presidents-conference/ Cllr Ross Houston, Barnet’s cabinet member for homes and regeneration, added: “Early participation in this programme has given Barnet a direct influence on the design and development of the tool, which could fundamentally change how planning decisions are supported across England. It is also an important opportunity to gain hands‑on experience of AI‑assisted planning.” MHCLG also said that it is making Extract, an AI tool designed to digitise paper-based planning documents announced in April last year https://www.publictechnology.net/2025/04/23/communities-housing-and-planning/gen-ai-tool-for-councils-to-turn-blurry-maps-and-handwritten-notes-into-clear-digital-data/ , available to all councils in England. Extract has been developed by the government’s Incubator for AI team with the ministry’s Digital Planning programme, with trials involving 20 local planning authorities including Exeter and Hillingdon. The ministry is developing other AI intended for use across local government around the country. MHCLG director of AI Tom Smith recently said that it is working with 500 officials in local authority housing and homelessness services on Local Transcribe, a transcription service based on the Incubator for AI’s Minute tool. “Our hypothesis that we’re testing and piloting is that, because this is a common tool, there is a really strong rationale and business case for central government – or some kind of central service, whoever runs it, to be provided to support local services,” Smith told the Socitm President’s Conference https://www.publictechnology.net/2026/06/11/communities-housing-and-planning/mhclg-recruits-500-council-workers-to-progress-work-on-ai-transcription-tool/ in London on 9 June.