Artificial intelligence has become the latest obstacle to Labour’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes.

A series of new AI platforms is allowing residents to generate detailed, policy-based objections to planning applications in just minutes, raising fears that councils could soon be overwhelmed by automated challenges.

Levels playing field

One system, Objector, lets users upload a planning application and receive “policy-backed objections” within minutes. For £45, it scans proposals, highlights potential breaches and produces letters and speeches ready for committee hearings. Co-founder Hannah George says it “levels the playing field” for residents who cannot afford planning consultants.

And it is not the only platform. Another service, PlanningObjection.com, sells AI-generated objection letters for £99 under the slogan “stop moaning and take action”, and a number of campaign groups are also now encouraging their supporters to use ChatGPT to write up submissions.

Elected members could easily believe AI-generated planning speeches made by members of the public, even if they are full of made-up case law and regulations.”

But it’s not just the volume of objections planners are concerned about; they are also warning that AI tools can generate highly convincing yet completely inaccurate material.

Sebastian Charles, Partner at Aardvark Planning Law, told The Guardian: “Elected members could easily believe AI-generated planning speeches made by members of the public, even if they are full of made-up case law and regulations.”

The emergence of these software platforms could mark the start of an “AI arms race” as, at the same time, the Government has launched its own AI tool called Extract with the aim of speeding up planning decisions, just as opponents use theirs to disrupt it.