The UK government announced on October 30, 2026, that PlanAssist, an artificial intelligence planning tool, would expand to 15 councils in England. The trial accompanies new rules directing routine planning decisions to trained officers.
The government says its National Scheme of Delegation will leave councillors to focus on more significant developments. PlanAssist addresses a separate part of the process: assembling application evidence and preparing an initial assessment for an officer to review.
What PlanAssist checks
Google DeepMind says it developed the tool with the government, Google Cloud and Faculty. Built with Gemini, the system checks application documents and architectural drawings for required information before examining local and national planning policies.
According to DeepMind, the tool also reviews site constraints and previously raised objections. It then produces reports with citations that planning officers can edit. The company says the system supports professional judgment and leaves the final decision with a person.
DeepMind says pilots in Barnet, Camden and Dorset began in June 2026. Its October 31 update reports a 58% cut in average time spent on householder assessment tasks. That measures officers’ work, rather than every stage of an application.
A longer trial using live applications
DeepMind says 12 additional councils will join in three groups during a 12-month beta phase using live applications. The participating authorities include urban and rural districts, allowing the developers to assess performance across different local settings.
The government says officers will use PlanAssist alongside their normal process during the expanded trial. Applications such as extensions and conservatories are the stated focus, rather than a system that automatically grants permission for a development.
The government also says councils will not be required to use PlanAssist. By the end of 2027, it plans to require councils to publish key planning documents as open digital data. The government says this would support other property-technology tools as well.
DeepMind says access for all English councils in 2027 depends on successful testing. Its stated safeguard is that a qualified planning officer must review and approve each assessment before any decision is made.
Sources: UK government — Faster planning decisions and PlanAssist, Google DeepMind — Speeding up planning decisions with AI
