Planning should value genuine testimony over AI-generated responses in public consultation

The government should change planning consultation to value personal testimony over the volume of AI-generated and repetitive responses according to a new best practice guide on community engagement and planning reform.

Recently, Geoff Keal, chief executive of TerraQuest – which runs the government’s national planning portal – warned that AI-generated objection documents are “slowing the system down”. Services including ChatGPT, Objector.ai and planningobjection.com are being used to produce detailed policy-led letters without the use of a planning consultant.

The new guide, Representative Planning: The missing piece in planning reform calls on government to modernise engagement methods and strengthen representative engagement during plan-making.

It also calls on the government to improve planning portals and ensure support, neutrality and objection are treated as equally legitimate forms of participation.

The guide says more representative planning is critical to form a public mandate for major projects. It also wants planning consultation to capture the views of young people, renters, future residents and working households, who “remain unheard” in favour of people who are already engaged, highly motivated or directly affected by developments.

The guide was created by Shared Voice, an accredited member of the British Polling Council that offers engagement services.

“The Government is undertaking the biggest programme of planning reform in a generation. If those reforms are to command public confidence and deliver the homes and infrastructure Britain needs, planning must build a genuine public mandate,” says Wyn Evans, co-founder and director of Shared Voice.

“The planning system does not necessarily reflect public opinion. Too often, it reflects who turns up.”

Intended as a tool for local authorities, developers and professionals, the guide offers ten principles for consultation reform.

The ten principles are start with evidence; hear communities of place and communities of interest; be a good neighbour; make participation easy; design engagement around decisions; measure community sentiment; enable support as well as objection; value testimony over volume; measure outcomes, not activity; and build a public mandate.

Find out more Representative Planning is available to download via Shared Voice