The Challenge: Planning is Complex.
UK planning decisions involve navigating dense policy documents, complex spatial constraints, discretionary judgment, and significant public impact. Traditional tools often fall short, leaving planners overwhelmed and processes opaque. We believe technology can help – if built thoughtfully.
Our Approach: Decision Support, Not Replacement.
The Planner’s Assistant is an experimental tool designed to augment, not automate, planning expertise. We're combining:
- AI Reasoning: To understand and interpret planning policy contextually.
- GIS Analysis: To integrate real-world spatial constraints directly.
- Explainable Outputs: To ensure reasoning is transparent and auditable.
Our goal is to build open tools that help humans see clearly, reason transparently, and act justly in the built environment – supporting officers, engaging communities, and improving outcomes.
What We're Building: An Evolving AI Co-Pilot for Planning
Our open-source prototype is already demonstrating core capabilities, and we're actively developing the next generation of features:
✅ Current Capabilities (Operational):
- Integrated Spatial & Policy Checks: Seamlessly links GIS constraint analysis (like Green Belt checks via PostGIS) with initial AI-powered policy interpretation and report drafting assistance.
⚙️ Active Development Focus:
- Deep Policy Understanding: Moving beyond keywords to semantic understanding – parsing, indexing (with Qdrant), and enabling search across entire local plans and national frameworks (NPPF).
- Explainable AI Reasoning: Building more sophisticated, multi-step AI logic for nuanced assessments (handling discretion, trade-offs) with transparent, traceable outputs.
🌱 Future Vision:
- Interactive & Auditable AI: Develop user interfaces where planners can inspect, adjust, and truly trust the AI's reasoning process.
- Expanded Planning Toolkit: Add modules for specific tasks like viability, permitted development, and consultation analysis.
- Systemic Insights & Local Control: Explore tools for analysing planning patterns (Project 'Spatial Ledger') and enable self-hosting options for Local Authorities.
We're focused on building trustworthy, useful AI – grounded in real-world planning needs, open by design, and built collaboratively.
Why This Matters: Building Trustworthy Planning Tech
Effective planning tech needs to handle real-world complexity:
- Messy Data: Planning information lives in PDFs and inconsistent formats. We build tools to reason through it.
- Explainable AI: Outputs must link back to policy and data, flagging uncertainties. Trust requires transparency.
- Accessibility: We aim for solutions that are affordable and usable, avoiding dependency on closed, expensive APIs.
- Human-Centric: Technology should empower planners and communities, removing drudgery, not judgment.
This isn't about hype. It's about careful, open development focused on public good.
Get Involved: Help Shape the Future of Planning Tech
The Planner’s Assistant is a collaborative civic experiment, not a finished product. We're looking for people passionate about planning, cities, housing, and public-interest technology to join us.
We need diverse perspectives and skills:
- Planners, Policy Experts, Urbanists: To guide the tool's purpose, test its usefulness, and ensure it meets real-world needs.
- Developers & Engineers: (Python, FastAPI, PostGIS, Qdrant, React, etc.) To build, refine, and implement features.
- UX/UI Designers: To make the tools intuitive and accessible.
- Data Scientists & Analysts: To improve model accuracy and data integration.
- Anyone curious about how technology can responsibly support better planning outcomes.
This is an open invitation to contribute – whether you build, test, critique, or advise. No prior planning tech experience is required, just a shared interest in making planning work better for everyone.
Ready to explore?
Reach out: hello@theplannersassistant.uk
View on GitHub
Let's build something meaningful, together.