The prime minister has unveiled a new AI-powered tool designed to slash planning delays by digitising England’s “outdated”, paper-reliant system and help accelerate the building of 1.5 million new homes.
Speaking at the start of London Tech Week on Monday, Keir Starmer announced the launch of “Extract”, an AI assistant developed by the government with support from Google.
The tool is designed to scan and process hundreds of pages of planning documents, including handwritten notes and maps, in minutes — a task that can currently take planning officers hours to complete manually.
The government claims the “breakthrough” technology will free up thousands of hours for planning officers, reduce costs for councils, and significantly speed up the planning application process, which currently sees around 350,000 submissions a year in England.
In test trials across three local authorities — Hillingdon, Nuneaton and Bedworth, and Exeter — Extract is said to have digitised planning records in an average of just three minutes each, compared to the one to two hours it typically takes a planning officer.
This suggests Extract could process around 100 planning records a day.
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“For too long, our outdated planning system has held back our country — slowing down the development of vital infrastructure and making it harder to get the homes we need built”, the prime minister said.
“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.”
He added: “It’s a bold step forward in our mission to build 1.5 million more homes and deliver a planning system that’s fit for the 21st century.”
The government has committed to making Extract available to all local authorities by Spring 2026, with the ambition of fully digitising all planning documents by the end of that year. The data unlocked by the tool will be uploaded to a publicly accessible gov.uk service page to “ensure the planning system is more transparent, accessible and understandable to the public.”
Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said: “From day one we made an unwavering promise to use every tool at our disposal to build the 1.5 million 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.”
The system uses Google DeepMind’s Gemini AI model. Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, 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 said: “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.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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