Tackling planning delays: PropTech Innovation Fund Round 6 pilots now underway

England’s planning system faces real and pressing challenges. Cross-boundary and cross-tier plan-making – where neighbouring areas co-ordinate planning for housing, infrastructure and growth – remains slow and fragmented. Meanwhile Section 106 agreements, the legal agreements that secure contributions from developers towards local infrastructure and affordable housing, can take months to negotiate, adding further delays to new homes being built.

That’s why 11 consortia of technology companies and local planning or combined authorities, have been selected for Round 6 of the PropTech Innovation Fund, part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's (MHCLG’s) Digital Planning Programme. Their goal is to pilot and scale digital solutions to directly target these bottlenecks. Each consortium was assessed against criteria including the potential impact of their solution, how scalable and deliverable it is, whether it works alongside existing systems and the strength of the partnerships involved. Each will receive a share of £2.4 million in grant funding, as well as dedicated mentoring and support during the 8-month programme.

Promotional banner to announce PropTech Innovation Fund Round 6 finalists

The PropTech Innovation Fund exists to test and scale digital innovation across the planning and housebuilding process, bringing together technology companies, planning authorities, developers, the private sector and academia to tackle the most stubborn challenges holding back housing delivery. The fund is one strand of the wider Digital Planning programme’s work which is modernising the planning system improving the quality and access of planning data and supporting faster, more efficient decision-making and plan-making.

Scaling what works

A key feature of Round 6 is the focus on scaling proven solutions. For the first time, all applications had to come from consortia including at least one PropTech company and a minimum of two local planning or combined authorities, ensuring solutions are designed and tested across a range of real planning environments from the outset, giving them the strongest possible foundation for lasting adoption.

This approach also helps us to build a clearer picture of what works in practice, gathering evidence on the benefits, impacts and risks of different digital technologies, to support the adoption of tools by planning authorities nationwide.

The response to the fund has been remarkable. We received 35 applications involving more than 70 planning authorities – a record level of local planning and combined authority engagement for the fund. Selected applicants have also secured more than £500,000 in match funding, reflecting genuine confidence in the potential of these pilots to deliver lasting change, beyond the grant period.

The challenges we set

This round has been shaped by a discovery phase conducted with our delivery partners PUBLIC, which identified two areas where digital innovation could have a big impact on housing delivery.

Applications were sought against two challenge statements:

How can scalable digital approaches help align evidence and policies across different plan-making boundaries and tiers? How can digital interventions reduce delays caused by Section 106 negotiations to accelerate local authority decision-making on applications?

These represent some of the most stubborn blockers in the system and the selected consortia will develop interoperable platforms, built around planning authorities’ existing data environments, to directly tackle them.

Pilots now underway

The 11 selected consortia bring together a diverse mix of PropTech companies, local planning and combined authorities, housing developers and academic institutions.

Challenge 1: Cross-boundary and cross-tier plan-making

Advanced Infrastructure – a scalable digital platform for cross-boundary housing, energy and infrastructure plan-making
In partnership with: ​​North Somerset Council 
Testing partner: Bristol City Council  AiDASH  – AI-powered biodiversity assessments for strategic housing and economic land availability assessments
In partnership with: Lancaster City Council 
Testing partner: Newark and Sherwood District Council  Bioregional Development Group – Net-Zero spatial planning tool 2.0 to align evidence and policy across plan-making tiers
In partnership with: Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee care of North Kesteven District Council  and Space Syntax
Testing partner: Gloucester City Council  Blocktype – AI-powered platform for collaborative, design-led housing capacity assessments across multiple sites, scales and locations
In partnership with: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority  and University of Liverpool
Testing partner: West Midlands Combined Authority  City Science  – automating digital baselines to streamline evidence assembly 
In partnership with: Plymouth City Council 
Testing partners: Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority, Tewkesbury Borough Council and Cheltenham Borough Council  Esri (UK) – a shared, customisable digital evidence hub for spatial plans 
In partnership with: Oxfordshire County Council  and LANDCLAN
Testing partners: Nottingham City Council, ​​Spelthorne Borough Council and Surrey County Council  Prior + Partners  – digital spatial development strategy hub 
In partnership with: Essex County Council, Southend-on-Sea City Council and Thurrock Council 
Testing partner: Lancashire Combined County Authority  SimAnalytica – AI-enabled evidence base bringing together information into one digital workspace, for cross-boundary planning 
In partnership with: Greater Manchester Combined Authority  and The Digital Task Force for Planning 
Testing partner: Salford City Council 

Challenge 2: Section 106 negotiations

The following partnerships are developing AI-powered platforms to streamline S106 negotiations, agreement drafting and obligation management:  

AI Gizmo
In partnership with: Birmingham City Council 
Testing partner: Reading Borough Council , Zen Living Management Limited and University of Wolverhampton Gpeto AI 
In partnership with: Uttlesford District Council 
Testing partner: Harlow Council  PlanningHub 
In partnership with: London Borough of Tower Hamlets 
Testing partner: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham/Be First 

What happens next

Each consortium is now starting an 8-month pilot phase, working directly with their partners to test and refine their solutions in live planning environments. The fund will provide active mentorship and support throughout, with show-and-tells and networking sessions to keep the wider planning sector informed with how the pilots are progressing.

Round 6 will conclude with a showcase in early 2027, where we'll share results and lessons learned. This will help inform future local planning authority and combined authority adoption decisions and contribute to the evidence base on how digital tools can support a more effective planning system.

Digital tools have a critical role to play in modernising the planning system and helping authorities to manage these bottlenecks. By investing in solutions with a proven foundation and testing them at scale in real environments, the Digital Planning programme is helping to build a planning system that can deliver the homes this country needs.

We'll be sharing updates on the pilots as they get under way.

Follow Digital Planning and PUBLIC on LinkedIn for regular updates, visit the PropTech Innovation Fund Round 6 website or get in touch with the team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..