Twelve pioneering teams have been announced as winners of the £1.2 million PropTech Innovation Challenge, marking a significant milestone in the UK government’s drive to deliver 1.5 million new homes during this Parliament.
A collaboration between Geovation, an Ordnance Survey (OS) initiative, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Digital Planning Programme, the Challenge is designed to identify and scale digital solutions that unlock housing delivery, reduce planning risk, and modernise the UK planning system.
The winning teams driving the next wave of PropTech Innovation
The 12 winning organisations are:
- 1st Planner Ltd
- Advanced Infrastructure Technology Ltd
- Alchera Technologies
- City Science
- Coplug
- LANDCLAN
- Libra
- Neuron
- PlanningHub
- RCKa
- RenKap
- Xylo
Each of these teams will receive up to £100,000 in funding to develop and test their solutions by March 2026, in partnership with local authorities, developers, and infrastructure stakeholders.
The winning proposals span a range of cutting-edge digital technologies, from AI-powered land data platforms and digital infrastructure mapping tools to automated planning assistants and small site viability engines. Collectively, they aim to streamline the housing delivery pipeline, enhance planning efficiency, and improve data transparency for both public and private sectors.
A catalyst for digital transformation in planning and housing
Speaking about the announcement, Joanna Averley, Chief Planner at MHCLG, said: “The PropTech Innovation Challenge demonstrates how targeted innovation can help tackle some of the most pressing challenges in planning and housing. The breadth and quality of solutions proposed reflect the sector’s appetite for change and readiness to co-create scalable solutions that deliver real impact for the 1.5 million homes mission.”
This latest phase represents a tangible step in digital transformation across the planning and housing ecosystem, moving beyond experimentation to implementation and scalability. Each solution is expected to deliver measurable outcomes—such as reductions in planning delays, improved access to infrastructure and land data, increased investor confidence, and time savings for local authorities.
From competition to collaboration: a rigorous and inclusive process
The Challenge attracted 116 expressions of interest, over 80 full applications, and 225 partner organisations, including SME developers, universities, and local planning authorities.
Following a multi-stage evaluation process, 20 finalists were shortlisted and assessed on innovation, feasibility, scalability, and impact by a cross-departmental panel, featuring representatives from:
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)
- Department for Business and Trade
- Environment Agency
- HM Land Registry
- Homes England
- 10 Downing Street
This rigorous evaluation underscores the UK government’s commitment to embedding PropTech innovation at the heart of digital planning reform.
Industry endorsement: PropTech as the engine for smarter housing delivery
Nick Bolton, CEO of Ordnance Survey, highlighted the critical role of collaboration in unlocking housing potential: “The PropTech Innovation Challenge has shown what’s possible when government, industry, and innovators come together with a shared purpose. The winning proposals demonstrate the power of location data and digital technologies to unlock housing delivery at scale, bringing transparency, efficiency, and inclusivity to the planning system. At Geovation, we’re proud to support this new wave of PropTech innovation and help create the conditions for smarter, faster, and more sustainable development across the country.”
Launch event: showcasing innovation and building partnerships
The official announcement took place at a launch event organised by Geovation, bringing together PropTech innovators, government leaders, and housing sector stakeholders.
The event featured a keynote from Joanna Averley, who underscored the transformative potential of PropTech in accelerating housing delivery and modernising local planning systems.
Winning teams showcased their concepts—demonstrating how their solutions can directly address challenges such as land availability, small site viability, and infrastructure planning certainty. The event also provided a platform for networking and collaboration, with developers, local authorities, housing associations, and technology providers exploring opportunities for future partnerships.
The development phase: turning ideas into scalable solutions
The winning teams now enter the development and testing phase, supported by:
- Access to Ordnance Survey and Planning Data Platform datasets
- Live testing environments across England
- Technical guidance and mentorship from Geovation experts
Projects will be assessed against key performance metrics including planning time reductions, data interoperability, and housing pipeline acceleration. This stage will also play a critical role in strengthening collaboration between digital innovators, government, and local planning authorities.
Following successful development, the most impactful solutions will be scaled across the sector, contributing to a smarter, data-driven, and more efficient planning system.
Building on the digital planning programme momentum
The PropTech Innovation Challenge builds upon the successes of the MHCLG’s Digital Planning Programme and PropTech Innovation Fund, which have already delivered over 114 pilot projects across 77 councils.
These initiatives form part of a broader strategy to leverage digital tools for housing delivery, ensuring planning systems are transparent, data-led, and citizen-centric.
The Challenge focuses on three strategic priorities, developed through extensive consultation with industry and public sector partners:
- Making land data work for everyone: improving transparency, interoperability, and usability of land ownership and planning data.
- Unlocking small site potential: reducing planning risk, cost, and complexity for SME developers.
- Providing infrastructure certainty: increasing clarity and confidence around utilities and transport connections for development feasibility.
These focus areas are especially vital for SME housebuilders, who once delivered nearly 40% of UK homes but have since seen their share fall to just 12%. Reinvigorating this segment through digital tools could be pivotal to achieving the government’s 1.5 million homes target.
A turning point for PropTech and housing delivery in the UK
The £1.2m PropTech Innovation Challenge represents more than a competition—it is a strategic investment in the digital future of planning and housing delivery. By nurturing scalable solutions grounded in real-world challenges, it sets a clear path towards a more data-enabled, resilient, and collaborative housing ecosystem.
As the development phase begins, the UK PropTech sector stands ready to demonstrate how digital planning solutions, AI-powered land data platforms, and geospatial intelligence can together drive meaningful change—accelerating the delivery of new homes, improving transparency, and supporting sustainable growth across communities.
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