{"id":"AIBD-1229","title":"The UK housing ministry says that early testing of PlanAssist in Camden, Barnet and Dorset cut time spent on key planning tasks by 58%, and the tool is expanding to 15 councils","summary":"The UK housing ministry says that early testing of PlanAssist in Camden, Barnet and Dorset cut time spent on key planning tasks by 58%. The tool is expanding to 15 councils.","date_observed":"2026-10-30","date_basis":"source publication","date_precision":"day","benefit_status":"reported","account":"England's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced the results on 30 October 2026. PlanAssist was developed with Google DeepMind, Google Cloud, Faculty and local authorities, through the government's Incubator for AI. It brings applications, policies and site constraints into one place for trained planning officers to review. Camden, Barnet and Dorset councils trialled it. The ministry says that early testing cut time spent on key planning tasks by 58%. It says that this is helping to halve processing times for routine householder applications from eight weeks to four. The tool will now expand to 15 councils for 12 months, and the government intends to offer it to every council in England by the end of 2027. The ministry gives no method or sample for the 58% figure. 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