England expands PlanAssist testing to 15 councils
The UK government announced on October 30 that PlanAssist testing would expand to 15 English councils for 12 months. The assistant prepares planning assessments for officers, who remain responsible for reviewing applications and making decisions.
Spec sheet
- Expanded trial
- 15 English councils
- Additional authorities
- 12
- Beta duration
- 12 months
The expansion follows initial work with Camden, Barnet and Dorset. Participating authorities will use PlanAssist alongside their normal process, giving the project a wider test of routine householder applications. The government says the software will not be mandatory. Its intended availability across England by the end of 2027 depends on further testing.
Google DeepMind’s October 31 account describes a Gemini-based system developed with the government, Google Cloud and Faculty. It checks submitted documents and architectural drawings, then examines planning policies, heritage constraints and objections. The output is a cited report that an officer can edit. The additional councils will join in three cohorts, covering metropolitan and rural districts.
DeepMind reports a 58% reduction in average officer time spent on householder assessment tasks during the original pilot. It also says officers accepted more than 70% of generated reports without edits. The government has separately committed to requiring key planning documents to be digitised and published as open data by the end of 2027. That commitment is intended to support other property-technology tools, alongside PlanAssist.
Claim check
- Company claim The pilot figures are partner-reported; the posts provide no sample size or independent accuracy assessment. [2]
Sources
- Faster planning decisions as new rules and AI tackle delays · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · 30 Oct
- Speeding up planning decisions with AI · Google DeepMind · 31 Oct