Opinion

AI could force us to re-imagine how public consultation in planning works

By 2025-11-26T07:00:00

Paul Smith Strategic Land Group-Photoroom 1

Local residents are increasingly using AI tools to craft letters of objection to schemes en masse. We need to think about how technology could help us to create a better planning system, writes Paul Smith

Way back in 2020, the Planning for the Future white paper promised a “digital-first approach” to the planning system, with digital local plans, site notices, consultation and decision-making.

Anyone who has recently tried to download application documents from a council website and been faced with 127 pdfs all called “document” will appreciate that we are still a little way off that digital nirvana.

However, one area where we have seen rapid change is the increasing use of artificial intelligence by local residents to craft objections to planning applications.

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