A missing north arrow. A scale bar left off a drawing
A missing north arrow. A scale bar left off a drawing. A site plan uploaded as the wrong document type. Small slips, and each can hold up a planning application before anyone looks at the design.
On 29 October 2026, Planning Portal launched Application Check, an AI-powered tool that reviews documents for quality and completeness before an application is submitted. It looks at boundary requirements, document tags and types, north arrows, scale bars and file names. Planning Portal says around half of all planning applications need further information at validation, and that each round of invalidation can set an application back by two to four weeks.
The day before, the Budget committed to making MHCLG's PlanAssist AI tool available to all councils in England by the end of 2027, subject to further testing, aiming to halve routine planning decision times.
So AI now checks planning applications on the way in, and soon on the council side too. What I find useful is what the tool checks: not design merit, but whether the package is complete and readable.
What I find useful is what the tool checks: not design merit, but whether the package is complete and readable.
The same thinking applies to Building Regulations submissions. Gateway 2 is the building control approval application for a higher-risk building in England (at least 18 metres or 7 storeys, with at least two residential units). It goes to the Building Safety Regulator, and construction cannot start until it is approved.
Four checks a Building Control or Gateway 2 package could borrow:
- Is every document on the list attached, and is each one what its name says?
- Does every drawing carry a scale, a north point and a current revision?
- Do the fire strategy, the drawings and the specification describe the same building: the same storeys, stairs and escape routes?
- Does every compliance claim point to the drawing or report that shows it?
Application Check already does the first two for planning. The last two are harder, and they are where a reviewer's time is best spent. None of them is a new rule. They decide whether a review starts with the design or with chasing missing information.
Which pre-submission check would save your projects the most time?
