ChatGPDO

Opportunities to enhance and support the planning system are arising through the emergence of technology and AI. The industry is at the start of a PlanTech revolution and sharing good practice should help all sectors to adapt.

We are all learning that ChatGPT and other AI platforms can be used to summarise language that can be difficult to digest. What better test is there for this than helping with the interpretation of planning legislation such as the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO). and transforming its complex, negatively worded legal clauses into plain English.

We have recently been asked by a client if their scheme would satisfy the criteria of Class S of the GPDO, and hence if permitted development rules could be applied to their property.

The difference between the readability of the legislation before and after plugged into ChatGPT is incredible. Whilst it is important to check the AI’s response against the original text and maintain some human scrutiny when interpreting, we are now able to feedback to the client speedily and with clarity. Using ChatGPT for this task saved time and took away the feeling of being overwhelmed by legal documents. Next time you need to interpret challenging text, try using AI to simplify.

Overall, steps forward to increase efficiency in the planning process should be supported, such as the use of AI to summarise information.