As our trains rolled in from all corners of the country for the AI in Planning Hackathon, Leeds greeted us with unseasonal warmth as the temperature touched 24 °C. But the welcome by the organisers from MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) & I.AI inside Nexus was even warmer. 

Right at the get-go, our name badge was devoid of titles and names of organisations showcasing the intent of the organisers for us to ‘leave hierarchy at the door; prototype like you mean it’. That set the tone for a 2-day hackathon to discover how AI & automation might make planning cheaper, faster and more inclusive for the public sector in the country.

As the event came to a close and I had a week’s time to ponder, I can say the event, despite a few hiccups and teething pains, was indeed successful the first time around. The event had planners, digital strategists and developers all corralled into the Nexus split across 15 teams where each team worked on resolving one of 4 key problem statements that they were interested in. The sheer talent, expertise and growth mindset displayed by the attendees showed that the public sector can develop solutions like how our peers in the private sector would.  

I saw first hand how quickly such talent can ideate and prototype open, reusable AI building-blocks that can help every UK council spend less on routine work, approve good development sooner and involve residents who rarely get a say.

Assessing the research discussed and the prototypes demonstrated at the end of the event, I see that there are 3 key themes that will matter to us in local government, especially here in London.  

Theme 1 – Cash savings through officer augmentation

Planning services still absorb vast amounts of staff time in low-value tasks—measuring plans, hunting historic decisions, re-issuing invalid letters—while budgets stay flat and fee income hits a plateau. That administrative drag lengthens turnaround times, inflates overtime bills and leaves little space for higher-value design or policy work.

That is why automating the last mile of validation, data retrieval and report generation will unlock hours that can be redirected to more impactful work or simply banked as savings. Enabling faster, cleaner workflow can in the end improve customer satisfaction and reduce the volume of “Where is my application?” calls that clog contact centres.

These outcomes were demonstrated by the hackathon winner, Clio, which converts historic decision notices into a one-page brief that potentially reduces officer time researching past documentation, saving £20.75 per application. Other innovative solutions were also designed that triage the 40% of applications that end up being invalid, ensuring officers don’t spend unnecessary time checking for basic errors.

Theme 2 – Growth & place-making powered by live insight

Boroughs must meet ambitious housing targets while proving that water, power and transport networks can cope—yet most evidence bases are two years old by the time they publish, and utility data sits in separate silos. As a result decisions stall, appeals rise and infrastructure deals falter because everyone is operating from different numbers.

Therefore local governments need platforms that blend dynamic approvals, market signals and network capacity, letting officers model “what-ifs” in real time and giving utilities the same transparent view. 

Whether it is the InfraLab’s shared workspace that puts councils and utilities around one live view of network capacity, or OnBalance that maps housing need against supply gaps in an interface non-experts can grasp at a glance, there were demos done for prototypes that can integrate planning approvals, housing stock, demographic and economic data into one unified system.

Using AI-driven forecasting dashboards and scenario tools, these platforms help councils and policymakers identify where future housing demand will outstrip supply and what types of homes are needed.

Theme 3 – Inclusive engagement for time-poor, under-represented residents

Traditional consultations often rely on detailed PDFs and scheduled weekday appointments, which inadvertently exclude shift workers, young renters, and low-income families who may not have the available time to participate. The absence of their input can lead to plans that face legal challenges, political opposition, and designs that fail to address practical needs.

It is important that we adopt mobile-first micro-sites, plain-language summaries and interactive sandboxes that in turn lower the public’s opportunity cost of participation to a few minutes. Such broader and more diverse input ensures local government meets obligations around Equalities Duty, builds public trust in Local Planning Authorities and supports faster committee decisions by surfacing issues early rather than through late-stage objections.

We saw prototypes that hoped to deliver on the above outcomes. ClearPlan Leicester  turns dense planning documents, maps, and images into 60-second explainer videos, comments cards and microsites  for each planning proposal. A couple of other prototypes showed that presenting  complex plans for consultations can be done in simple language with traceability to evidence and clauses. 

Taken together, these themes prove we can create a positive atmosphere where every hour saved funds deeper analysis, real-time data accelerates approvals, and wider engagement secures community buy-in. Leeds Hackathon showed that achieving this state doesn’t demand seven-figure procurement – just smart use of talent, open code, clear goals and councils willing to share what works.

Operationalising through LOTI

I left Leeds convinced that open, reusable AI prototypes can offer a credible route to do more with less, accelerate growth and involve time-poor citizens. I do realise that this vision needs coordination, and not another committee. 

That’s where LOTI can come in. LOTI’s AI Adoption Group already brings digital, data and innovation leads together – so let’s make planning its next test bed. Through the existing group, nominate planning and tech leads from willing boroughs to test, scale and pilot one prototype from the Leeds hackathon over the next quarter using the existing talent. 

We can partner with the MHCLG Digital Planning Taskforce & I.AI for subject-matter support, and commit to an “open-source first” rule so improvements flow back to the LOTI community. We can publish impact data—good, bad or mixed—at LOTI Show & Tell and invite other UK cities to replicate. If London leads with evidence, suppliers, regulators and fellow councils will follow.

Let’s make hackathon inspiration become operational reality, fast.

(The image used to accompany this blog is from the MHCLG website.)

This blog has been written by Vincen Arivannoor, he is a Strategic Relationship Manager in the Digital Services team at London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. With a passion for transforming local government, Vincen works across teams to adopt emerging technology and unlock smarter ways of delivering council services – championing collaboration, open innovation, and practical experimentation that puts residents first.