What’s changing
From Saturday 31 October, straightforward planning applications in England, such as loft conversions, extensions and shop improvements, will be decided by expert planning officers rather than waiting for a slot on a council planning committee. The change comes under a new National Scheme of Delegation, announced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
The government says the move is designed to give homeowners and small businesses, including shopkeepers and pub landlords, quicker certainty on routine applications, while leaving councillors to focus on larger or more contentious developments.
The AI tool behind the numbers
Alongside the rule change, MHCLG has detailed a new AI tool called PlanAssist, built with Google DeepMind, Google Cloud, Faculty and local authorities. The tool pulls together applications, local policies and site constraints into a single view for trained planning officers to review, rather than making decisions itself.
According to the department, early testing showed PlanAssist cut time spent on key planning tasks by 58%, which MHCLG says has helped halve processing times for routine householder applications from eight weeks to four.
PlanAssist has already been trialled in Camden, Barnet and Dorset councils. It will now be rolled out to 15 councils for a 12-month period, with the government stating an intention to make it available to every council in England by the end of 2027.
Why it matters for UK applicants
MHCLG says householder applications, the extensions, loft conversions and similar projects, make up nearly 70% of all planning applications each year in England. Any sustained reduction in processing times for this category would affect a large share of homeowners and small business premises owners dealing with local councils.
The department also says 420 planners have been recruited through government-backed schemes, which it states exceeds its 2024 manifesto commitment of 300 additional planners, achieved more than two years before the end of this Parliament. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said the government intends to go further, targeting 1,400 new recruits across the planning system by the end of this Parliament.
AI Minister Kanishka Narayan framed PlanAssist as a practical example of AI being used in public services, saying it frees up skilled planners to concentrate on major developments. Owen Larter of Google DeepMind said the tool is intended to let planning officers spend more time on application decisions rather than administrative tasks.
What to watch next
The key test will be whether the 58% time saving and halved processing times, seen in early trials and three pilot councils, hold up as PlanAssist scales to 15 councils over the coming year. Homeowners and small businesses in those areas should see the most direct effect first. The government’s stated target of national coverage by the end of 2027 is the next milestone to track, alongside whether the broader recruitment drive toward 1,400 planners stays on course.