AI and the planning system

On Monday the 9^th of June, the Prime Minister announced that ‘Extract’, a software created in a collaboration between the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Incubator for Artificial Intelligence, will be launched for use by planning officers and local councils with the potential to ‘unlock planning data’.

‘Extract’ works by applying artificial intelligence to scan documents, understand and extract relevant information, and convert this to usable data. It has been applied so far in the area of planning constraints. MHCLG Digital Planning has set up a platform which displays a map of the UK, where filtering can be applied to show planning constraints such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Local Nature Reserves, Air Quality Management Areas, Tree preservation Zones, World Heritage Sites, and many more themes. The data displayed on this map has been collected using the Extract software, which has used ‘computer vision’ to trace boundaries and define specific areas, alongside geolocation techniques which impose those areas accurately onto a map. MHCLG’s map can be viewed here (link).

The existing system relied on planners to compare planning applications manually against historic maps and policy documents. This process has been estimated to use up 250,000 hours of planners’ time each year. Problems also lie where documents are decades-old, filled with blurry images and/or handwritten notes which are difficult to decipher. Extract is able to convert this into clear data in seconds. Furthermore, the Government recognises this software will ‘reduce delays that have long plagued the system’, and contribute to informed decision-making as well as delivering the milestone of 1.5 million homes.