The UK government has appointed Google Cloud to develop a new digital tool aimed at speeding up planning decisions across the country. The initiative is part of a broader effort to improve the efficiency of the planning system and reduce delays faced by local authorities when reviewing applications.
Google to Support Planning Decisions
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has awarded a contract worth about £6.9 million to Google Cloud to design the new system. The tool is expected to help planning officers handle applications more quickly by supporting routine tasks involved in reviewing development proposals.
Local councils across the UK process thousands of planning applications each year, ranging from home extensions to larger building projects. However, limited resources and complex regulations often slow down the process, leading to significant backlogs and delays in decision-making for planning applications. By introducing a digital system that can organize information and assist with policy checks, the government hopes to reduce these delays and improve overall efficiency.
How the System Is Expected to Work
The digital platform will assist planning officers by carrying out tasks such as policy research, generating citations from planning regulations, and checking whether proposals comply with existing rules. By analyzing planning data and documents, the system will provide structured recommendations that officers can review before making a final decision.
Importantly, the technology is designed to support human decision-making rather than replace it. Planning officers will remain responsible for final judgments on applications. The tool’s role will be to organize information and highlight relevant policies more quickly, reducing the amount of manual work required in the process.
Focus on Everyday Planning Applications
The first phase of the project will focus mainly on householder planning applications, which account for around 69 percent of all planning requests in the UK. These include projects such as home extensions, loft conversions, and small property changes. By targeting these high-volume cases first, the government hopes to reduce decision times significantly.
Current planning decisions for such applications can take around eight weeks. The government hopes the new system could cut that timeframe roughly in half, potentially reducing it to about four weeks. In the longer term, straightforward applications may even be processed almost instantly once the system is fully developed.
Competitive Selection Process
The contract was awarded following a competitive procurement process in which several technology and consultancy firms submitted proposals. Bidders included AtkinsRéalis UK, Cognizant Worldwide, Endava, and PA Consulting Services. Each company was asked to develop a working prototype during a two-week demonstration period, so the government could assess how their solutions performed in practice.
After evaluation, Google Cloud was selected to deliver the system. The project will be managed by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on behalf of the housing ministry.
A Step Toward Modernizing the Planning System
The initiative reflects a broader effort by the UK government to modernize the planning process and address delays that have long frustrated developers, homeowners, and local authorities. Housing development and infrastructure projects frequently cite slow planning decisions as a barrier.
By introducing digital tools that can process information faster and organize planning rules more clearly, policymakers hope to make the system more efficient and transparent.
