UK Government Launches AI Tool to Modernise Planning Document Processing
The UK government is introducing Extract, a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool designed to assist local authorities in evaluating historic planning documents during application assessments. Extract converts decades-old planning records into structured digital data suitable for current digital workflows.
Across England, valuable planning details like site boundaries, policy zones, and conservation areas remain locked in paper maps, scanned PDFs, and microfiche archives. This has hindered efforts to modernise the planning system, as councils struggle to access and utilise these records efficiently.
Development and Trial
The concept for Extract originated in November last year from the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI), part of the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology. It was proposed as one of 20 AI applications to speed up the planning process. Since then, i.AI and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Digital Planning programme have conducted a focused 12-week trial of the tool.
Extract transforms complex geospatial information from static documents into digital, structured formats faster and more cost-effectively than manual methods. It uses large language models to extract key data—including dates, locations, and decisions—formatting these into datasets aligned with planning guidance.
How Extract Works
- Combines vision language models with tools like OpenCV and SAM to trace boundaries on maps, converting them into polygon shapes.
- Aligns polygons to real-world coordinates using Ordnance Survey maps and AI techniques for automatic ground control point detection.
- Utilises digital anchors such as road junctions or building corners that appear on both old and modern maps for accurate geolocation.
During the trial, adjustments improved performance significantly. Extract now achieves 100% text field extraction, correctly identifies dates 94% of the time, and matches AI-traced boundaries to human-drawn ground truth with an Intersection over Union score of 0.8 for 90% of boundaries.
One key improvement was replacing a fixed 15-meter distance metric with a relative accuracy measure, which positioned 82% of boundary centres within 10% of the true shape’s diameter. This offers greater precision in mapping boundaries.
Impact and Next Steps
A government statement highlighted the efficiency gains: a task taking an officer 1-2 hours manually can be completed by Extract in under three minutes at a cost of about 10p. For local authorities managing thousands of historic documents, this improvement can be transformative.
Extract initially focused on a subset of documents but has potential for wider application across various planning records. By integrating text and map processing, the tool creates a streamlined workflow converting complex documents into usable geospatial data.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the rollout at London Tech Week. The next phases include private and public beta launches later this year, with a full live service expected for local authorities by spring 2026.
In his announcement, the Prime Minister stated: “With Extract, we’re using AI to help planning officers cut red tape, speed up decisions, and support the delivery of new homes as part of our Plan for Change. This is a significant step in building 1.5 million more homes and creating a planning system fit for the 21st century.”
Your membership also unlocks:
