The Government has unveiled a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool to help speed up planning permission applications.
Speaking at London Tech Week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the launch of Extract – an AI assistant for planning officers and local councils, developed with support from Google.
The tool can scan hundreds of files in seconds, helping councils convert decades-old, handwritten planning documents and maps into data in minutes. The tool will also power new types of planning software to slash the 250,000 estimated hours spent by planning officers each year manually checking these documents. This will dramatically reduce delays that have long plagued the system.
In test trials across Hillingdon, Nuneaton & Bedworth, and Exeter councils, Extract digitised planning records, including maps, in just three minutes each – compared to the one to two hours it typically takes manually. This means Extract could process around 100 planning records a day – significantly speeding up the process.
Extract is expected to be made available to all councils by Spring 2026. The Government’s ambition is to fully digitise the planning system – making it faster, more transparent, and easier to navigate for working people, councils, businesses and developers.
Starmer said: “For too long, our outdated planning system has held back our country - slowing down the development of vital infrastructure and making it harder to get the homes we need built. This Government is working hand in hand with business to change that. With Extract, we’re harnessing the power of AI to help planning officers cut red tape, speed up decisions, and unlock the new homes for hard-working people as part of our Plan for Change. It’s a bold step forward in our mission to build 1.5m more homes and deliver a planning system that’s fit for the 21st century.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner added: “From day one we made an unwavering promise to use every tool at our disposal to build the 1.5m homes and vital infrastructure through our Plan for Change that our local communities desperately need. By using cutting-edge technology like Extract we can fix the broken planning system, cut delays, save money, and also reduce burdens on councils to help pave the way for the biggest building boom in a generation.”
Around 350,000 planning applications are submitted each year in England, yet the system remains heavily reliant on paper documents – some hundreds of pages long. Once submitted, each of these documents needs to be manually validated and approved by a planning officer. It is hoped that Extract will also accelerate the delivery of much-needed housing, improve reliability in the planning process and reduce costs and save time for councils and developers.
Co-Founder & CEO of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, said: “We build our AI models to understand all types of information - from text to handwritten notes and technical drawings - so it’s really exciting to see the UK government choose Gemini to help speed up the planning process and support planners and people across the country.”
Hillingdon Council’s chief operating officer, Matthew Wallbridge, stated: “The UK Planning System relies on paper-based processes, and AI can help to read and then extract the key information from it, to help both residents and planning officers. The productivity benefits will allow for a faster and cheaper service.”
Tom Shardlow, CEO Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, added: “Just like many local authorities, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has many plans and documents in storage from historic planning applications over the years. Working with the Extract team, we have seen the outputs from Extract, and how these could improve our service, providing high quality, digital, GeoSpatial data and how this could speed up the process for our Planning Team.”
The government is now working with Google to develop and expand Extract to all local authorities in England using its Gemini model, with the aim of supporting local authorities to digitise all planning documents by the end of 2026.
The planning data, unlocked through Extract, will be uploaded to a publicly accessible gov.uk service page. Open, public data will ensure the planning system is more transparent, accessible and understandable to the public. The government will also explore the best and most efficient ways to deploy Extract into local authorities - this might also include developing an app to scan documents instantly.
However, Tony Mulhall, RICS senior specialist - land & resources, said the rollout will require time and resources, something most local councils are in short supply of. He added: “Today’s announcement is an exciting step forward for the digital transformation of the planning system, which is essential to significantly speed up the planning process and the delivery of new homes and infrastructure. The trials have clearly been a success but rolling this technology out across local authorities will require time and investment, a significant short-term challenge given the pressures local authority planning teams are already facing. As well as implementation in England, the Government should also facilitate access of this technology in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.”
