Tackling planning delays: PropTech Innovation Fund Round 6 pilots now underway

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Two surveyors in high visibility jackets, overseeing a housing construction site

11 consortiums of technology companies, local planning and combined authorities have been selected for Round 6 of the Digital Planning Programme’s PropTech Innovation Fund, to pilot digital solutions targeting blockers to housing delivery.

Using AI to support planning decisions – what it means for planners and residents

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Minister for Data and Modern Digital Government Ian Murray, visiting Barnet Council to speak to council officers and see first-hand how the prototype is being developed.

A new AI planning prototype, developed with Google DeepMind and Faculty, is being tested with three local planning authorities to help officers process applications faster. The tool analyses applications and surfaces relevant policies while planning officers remain the key decision makers. Our ambition is to halve processing times for householder applications.

Extract is here: AI-powered planning data for every council in England 

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Extract, a new AI-powered tool developed by MHCLG's Digital Planning Programme and i.AI, is now available for free, for every local planning authority in England. It converts planning documents into structured, usable data in minutes - cutting a process that can take officers up to two hours down to just two on average.

Data standards: Laying the groundwork for an open, faster, data-driven planning system 

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graphic showing file inputs into a computer screen from planning data.gov.uk

Regulations have been laid in Parliament requiring local planning authorities to publish plan and timetable data in a standardised format, when creating local, minerals, waste or supplementary plans under the new plan-making system. This marks a major step towards a more open, data-driven planning system.

Transforming planning with PlanX and new funding to help local planning authorities reap the rewards

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Data, Digital Planning, Planning software
Mobile phone in a person's hand displaying the PlanX interface

Local planning authorities are modernising planning services using open data. New software like PlanX is improving the experience for applicants, while back-office improvements are speeding up processing. New funding will help more authorities adopt tools and make improvements, freeing up planning teams to focus on delivering the homes communities need.

Testing new planning data specifications with industry: 5 pilot partnerships paving the way 

Drawing of a laptop showing various graphics and anonymous data on screen

Modernising planning relies on standardised data that enables digital systems to communicate effectively. The Digital Planning programme is funding 5 pilot projects with local authorities and software suppliers to test emerging data standards for planning applications. Read about how these partnerships will help create more transparent and efficient planning services across England.

Data Hackathon: exploring how open data can help transform the planning system

The hackathon team standing in a room looking at ideas on a white board

Find out how a recent hackathon was used to start to build an app, based on open planning datasets, which could be used to help identify brownfield land for development.