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Improving Planning from the Bottom Up: How AI Could Accelerate Development Approvals



The government’s New Homes Accelerator has been launched to support local

planning departments, but what about the developers still struggling to get their

applications approved on time?


The delay isn’t always about red tape or under-resourced councils. Ask most

planning officers, and they’ll tell you the same thing: the real bottleneck is the quality

of applications. Poor documentation, missing information, and a lack of

understanding of local policies often lead to costly revisions and long wait times.

This raises a simple but powerful question: Where could artificial intelligence make a

real difference?


AI doesn’t need to be applied solely on the local authority’s side. In fact, it may be

more impactful if used upstream, by developers themselves. Imagine an application

tool that automatically checks for missing documents, validates technical drawings,

and flags inconsistencies before anything is submitted.


With the Labour government now targeting 370,000 homes per year by 2027,

improving the application stage could be critical (Gov.UK, 2024). Too often,

authorities receive incomplete or flawed proposals. These get passed back, slightly

revised, and resubmitted in a cycle that can drag on for months or even years.

That’s where AI comes in. Tools are already being developed to pre-screen planning

applications and highlight common errors early. The Alan Turing Institute has created

machine learning models that automate validation checks, such as verifying whether

floor plans and site plans are correctly formatted and complete (Alan Turing Institute,

2019).


Private-sector tools are moving fast too. IEG4’s AI Planning Validator uses large

language models to scan and flag missing documents, mislabelled files, or non-

compliant materials, helping reduce rework and human error. Meanwhile, in Australia

and North America, Archistar’s eCheck platform is being used to automatically

review plans against local codes and regulations to provide instant pass or fail

results. The company reports that this approach can cut approval times by up to 90%

(Archistar, 2025).


Ultimately, many planning delays could be avoided by improving the quality of

submissions from the start. AI doesn’t replace planning officers. It gives them fewer

broken applications to review, allowing them to focus on higher-value decisions. For

developers, these tools could mean fewer surprises, faster feedback, and a

smoother path to approval.


Harry Purcell


References

Alan Turing Institute (2019) Automating the evaluation of local government planning

10/dsg_agile-datum-report.pdf (Accessed: 16 May 2025).

Archistar (2025) eCheck – Government Compliance. Available at:

Gov.UK (2024) Planning overhaul to reach 1.5 million new homes. Available at:

homes (Accessed: 16 May 2025).

IEG4 (2025) AI Validator Revolutionising Planning Validation. Available at:

 
 
 

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