Three digital planning projects – funded by the Government’s Digital Planning programme – have been shortlisted for the Planning Awards 2026.
The three shortlisted projects include an AI tool in Leeds that quickens application processing, an AI-powered consultation summarisation system in Greater Cambridge, and a digital site assessment platform in Plymouth.
The projects have been developed in collaboration with planners and tested in real-world settings, and has been delivering measurable improvements in efficiency and transparency.
Leeds City Council and technology partner Xylo piloted Xylo Core, developing an AI-enabled tool which assists planning officers validate and process applications by checking documents, identifying relevant planning history, and drafting report sections.
It was tested over three months, and the tool saved officers an average of one day per week, enabling them to focus more on professional judgement rather than administrative tasks.
“This recognition reflects a genuinely collaborative approach between our planning officers and Xylo, focused on solving real planning challenges. By streamlining administrative tasks, the tool is already delivering practical benefits, enhancing decision-making and giving officers more time to focus on complex work.”
Helen Cerroti, Team Leader, Leeds City Council
In Greater Cambridge, The Shared Planning Service partnered with the University of Liverpool to develop PlanAI. This is an AI tool designed to process large volumes of public consultation responses.
The early indications showed the tool could summarise three planning consultations in 16 minutes, a task that previously took 18.5 hours manually, representing a 98% efficiency saving.
“PlanAI is purpose-built for planning, trained on thousands of past submissions, and enables our officers to focus on technical rather than administrative tasks.”
Terry de Sousa, Planning Policy and Strategy Team Leader, Greater Cambridge Shared Planning
Plymouth City Council partnered with Urban Intelligence to modernise its site assessment process for a new Local Plan using PlaceMaker, a digital platform that unifies constraints mapping, land ownership data and automated density calculations.
The tool has lowered the council’s reliance on specialist GIS staff and improved the evidence base for strategic decisions.
“The PropTech Innovation Fund has been critical in enabling us to modernise past planning practices. These digital tools will be the foundation of our strategic work and essential to meeting the new 30-month timetable for plan-making.”
Ed Mannings, Strategic Planning Team, Plymouth City Council
The three projects draw attention to how digital innovation is helping planning teams manage workloads more efficiently, improve consistency, and assist the government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes.
