Valon AI
How Milton Keynes’ Planning Team Transformed with AI
How Milton Keynes’ Planning Team Transformed with AI
Details:
- Company: Valon AI
- Client: Milton Keynes City Council
- Year: 2025
- Region: England
- Product: Core Platform
Service areas:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) and software solutions
- Plan-making, planning application and data management systems
- Organisational digital transformation
Introduction
Milton Keynes City Council partnered with Valon to pilot AI-assisted automation for planning application validation. The aim was to reduce validation bottlenecks caused by high document volumes, complex application types, and manual document checks. The pilot focused on live planning applications and tested Valon’s ability to support officers across a wide range of submission types, not just simple householder cases.
Challenges
The planning team faced increasing application volumes and growing document complexity, with some applications containing hundreds of files. Manual validation was time-consuming, inconsistent, and placed pressure on officer capacity. Existing systems offered limited support for document review, red-line boundary checking, and identifying missing or incorrect information early in the process. This contributed to delays at the validation stage and reduced time available for decision-making and case management.
Solutions
Valon deployed its AI platform alongside existing planning systems to automate key validation tasks. This included intelligent document analysis, boundary extraction from submitted plans, and automated checks against validation requirements. The pilot deliberately covered a broad range of application types, including complex and document-heavy cases, to ensure the system could handle real-world workloads. Officers retained full oversight, using Valon as an assistive tool rather than a replacement for professional judgement.
Results
During the pilot, Milton Keynes City Council achieved an average 85% reduction in validation time, with planning decisions issued an average of 18 days faster. Officers reported reduced manual document handling and greater confidence that applications were complete before progressing. The pilot demonstrated that AI-assisted validation can meaningfully reduce early-stage delays while fitting into existing workflows and governance processes.