Extract is here: AI-powered planning data for every council in England

Today we have announced that Extract is now live and every local planning authority in England has free access to use this AI-powered tool, developed by MHCLG's Digital Planning Programme in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI). Read the joint press release.

A screenshot of Extract's main home screen interface

The Prime Minister announced Extract at last year’s London Tech Week and since then a multidisciplinary team has worked together, at pace, to be ready to roll out the tool to everyone this Spring, as promised. 

None of this would have been possible without the 34 local planning authorities (LPAs) who participated in user research and testing throughout Extract's development. Their involvement has been essential, helping us to build a product that works and that councils genuinely trust and use.

A great deal of that engagement was made possible by Open Digital Planning (ODP), a network of forward-thinking councils transforming their planning services. Our community managers played a vital role too, building the trust, confidence, and enthusiasm needed to motivate councils to trial something new. Together, everyone across Digital Planning, i.AI, ODP and a handful of other councils, has enabled the successful launch of Extract.

Andrew Powell, Local Plan co-ordinator, from Stoke-on-Trent City Council, who was involved in the tool's development, shared his experience at the recent launch event:

"The data we asked it to extract was 100% accurate, and although it was a small sample, it gave us great confidence in the tool. We would strongly recommend other authorities to give it a go - it's simple to use, does exactly what it promises, and has the potential to save significant resources. It's fantastic that it has now launched across England, and I would encourage everyone to try the software."

So what is Extract, and why does it matter?

Planning authorities hold vast amounts of valuable information but too much of it is locked away in scanned PDFs, archived maps and historic documents, organised differently by each council. Planning and Geographic Information System (GIS) officers currently can spend up to 2 hours manually working through one of these records to extract the data they need and digitise it. For some document types Extract can do that same work 2 minutes.

The tool converts planning documents - Conservation Areas, Article 4 Directions and Tree Preservation Orders - into structured, standardised, usable planning data. Upload a PDF or scanned document, and Extract identifies map features and text, including handwritten annotations which have been added to some documents over time, maps them spatially and converts them into structured data ready for use.

Crucially, users review everything that Extract produces, check the output and makes corrections before exporting it into standardised formats for their own systems and the national Planning Data Platform. In around two thirds of cases, only minor edits were needed before the data was ready to use - with all outputs reviewed by planning officers. The expertise of planning and GIS officers remains at the heart of the process - Extract simply removes the most time-consuming parts.

A full evaluation report explaining more about how the tool works and results to date has been published by i.AI.

Why this is such a big deal

Good planning data underpins everything. When data is easy to find, use and trust, it improves transparency, reduces the monitoring burden on councils and helps developers and communities understand what's possible before they even submit an application.

With Extract, we expect to see real benefits flow through the system:

More open planning data means planning services' users can identify the right locations earlier, making applications more accurate and less likely to face delays. Consistent, accessible data powers modern digital planning tools like PlanX, BOPS and the Digital Site Register, giving applicants automated guidance and helping officers make faster decisions. Reliable, standardised, machine-readable data is the foundation for the next generation of AI tools and planning software that we need to deliver 1.5 million homes.

Extract is an important part of the government’s wider drive to use AI to improve public services.

Soft launch with local planning authorities

Extract was soft-launched at a recent ODP in-person event, hosted by Liverpool City Council, at the Museum of Liverpool, with around 60 LPAs attending – who gave it an enthusiastic welcome. They were shown a live demonstration of the tool and how to access it.

Soft launch of Extract with local planning authorities at the Museum of Liverpool.

There are now 50 LPAs actively using the tool and in the first few weeks Extract had already processed over 1,000 documents, mostly Tree Preservation Orders.

Like any piece of software, we will continue to improve Extract as more councils use it, developing it based on feedback from planning officers on the ground. 

What others are saying

Rachel Fisher, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, commented:  

“While some of the UK's planning departments are ahead of the digital curve, not everyone is applying the most up-to-date technology. ‘Extract’ will therefore be a refreshing update to a local planning authority’s toolbox, which can sometimes feel out of date and unfit for purpose in today's digital landscape. 

“With the ability to draw on robust datasets, this new tool could help planners make better-informed decisions. While a planner’s work should never be fully autonomous, tools that help alleviate pressure from hard-working local authorities while helping planners deliver better outcomes for their communities are always welcome.”  

Mike Keily, Chair, Planning Officers Society, added:

“The Planning Officers Society welcomes this key announcement along our Digital Planning journey. Extract is a game changing tool as it unlocks the data trapped in PDFs and makes it available in digital form to be used by AI and other systems. We look forward to future announcements from MHCLG as their investment bears fruit."

Dr Wei Yang OBE, CEO, Digital Task Force for Planning, said:

"High-quality, standardised planning data is essential for a modern planning system. Extract can help local planning authorities accelerate the transition from document-based processes to data-enabled planning by making it easier to convert existing planning information into usable digital data. This represents an important step forward in improving efficiency, transparency and evidence-based decision-making across the planning system.”

How to get started

To start using Extract, visit the platform. You’ll find more information as well as an introductory video and guidance to help you start digitising your documents. Local planning authorities can log in directly with their GOV.UK email address.

If you have any questions or need support, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We're incredibly proud of what our team, our partners at i.AI, and the local planning authorities who have tested Extract have achieved together. This is just the beginning. We’re keen to explore how we can expand Extract to support more planning document types, and are committed to sharing more about how the technology works so that others in the market can build on this innovation.

AI planning prototype to cut application processing times

One of the next generations of planning tools which Extract could help enable is a new prototype being built in collaboration with Google DeepMind and Faculty and now being tested with Barnet, Camden and Dorset councils. The prototype, also mentioned in today’s press release, aims to halve the time it takes to process householder planning applications. We have planned to provide more details about this exciting project via a separate blog post to follow later this week.

How to find out more 

Start using Extract and take a look at the introductory video and user guidance  Joint Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology press announcement   i.AI Extract evaluation report i.AI Extract blog post: Extract: what it takes to ship in government Previous MHCLG Digital blogs:  from June 2025 when Extract was first announced: Extract: Using AI to unlock historic planning data  and from April 2026 while it was still in development: Extract: unlocking England’s planning data   

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