In a blog post yesterday, Google announced its work with UK local government councils to digitize old planning documents. Here is a brief summary with a link at the end:
UK Government Accelerates Planning Decisions with Google’s Gemini AI
The UK government has taken a significant step toward modernizing urban planning processes by adopting Google's advanced AI technology, Gemini. This partnership introduces Extract, a generative AI tool developed by the government's AI Incubator team (i.AI), designed to rapidly digitize complex planning documents that traditionally slow down the decision-making process.
Planning applications often include a mix of handwritten notes, scanned maps, and other intricate documents that can take hours to process manually. Extract leverages Gemini's multimodal capabilities to convert these documents into structured digital data in minutes, drastically reducing workload and accelerating approvals.
During pilot projects across several UK councils, including Hillingdon, Nuneaton & Bedworth, and Exeter, Extract processed records in approximately three minutes, compared to the usual one to two hours, demonstrating a promising boost in efficiency.
Beyond speed, Gemini enables Extract to accurately interpret varied document formats, including blurry maps and handwritten annotations, through integration with cutting-edge tools such as OpenCV and geospatial datasets. This not only facilitates faster planning but also improves data accuracy and accessibility for local authorities.
The UK government aims to deploy Extract nationwide by spring 2026, moving closer to a fully digitized planning system that promises to reduce delays, lower costs, and support faster delivery of housing and infrastructure projects.
For a detailed overview of this groundbreaking initiative, please visit Google’s official announcement:
UK Government harnesses Gemini to support faster planning decisions