Data
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, 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.
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.
England's planning system holds decades of valuable data locked in scanned PDFs and digital documents. Extract, an AI tool developed by MHCLG in partnership with the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence, converts historic planning maps and documents into standardised, usable data - so local authorities can make their data available and power digital planning services.
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.
Open Data Communities (ODC) is the platform for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to routinely release its data outputs in fully open, accessible and reusable forms. This blog post talks about how it’s evolving, why it’s changing and how you can help shape the next steps.
We've completed the first phase of testing new data standards for planning applications. Working with local planning authorities, software suppliers and the Planning Portal, we examined how draft specifications align with real systems and workflows. The result? A clearer understanding of what works and what needs refining before wider implementation.
The recently launched Fire and Rescue Data Platform (FaRDaP) is one of the most critical digital services underpinning emergency response across England, Scotland and Wales. Learn how the FaRDaP team built and now run a nationwide service that helps record incident data more easily, keeps communities safer, and supports the future of the fire sector.
Planning data locked in PDFs and legacy systems creates barriers for everyone. This February, 49 more local planning authorities are joining the Digital Planning Improvement Fund to publish essential planning data in open, standardised formats making it easier for residents, businesses and developers to find what they need.
Every year, local planning authorities make hundreds of thousands of planning decisions. Right now, planning decisions are recorded in dozens of different formats. Find out about the work taking place to change that by creating a data standard for planning decisions.
