Stratford on-Avon District Council has reached the final stages of transferring its Local Land Charges Register (LLCR) to HM Land Registry (HMLR).
This is part of a national transformation programme that will eventually see all 314 registers held by English Local authorities transferred to HM Land registry under the Infrastructure Act 2015. Since formally signing a collaboration agreement in January 2019, the District Council has been working with HM Land Registry to migrate its data for the purpose of enabling customers to access an LLC1 search reply on-line via the Land Registry's portal.
This has been an ambitious and challenging programme of work but today, Monday 29 March, HM Land Registry has officially served notice, leading to the new service going live by mid-May 2021.
The main objective has been to update and enhance over 91,000 local land charges that were previously held in a variety of paper and digital formats. The task was not made any easier with the onset of the pandemic, leading to staff at both the District Council and HM Land Registry having to work remotely to address any issues with the numerous data sets and how these would integrate with the HMLR online portal.
When fully transferred, anybody requiring local land charge searches within the area of Stratford on-Avon District will be able to access those directly from HM Land Registry and not from the District Council.
Benefits to the new system will include an improved customer service that will see faster response times to search requests, and provide a foundation enabling officers to work with more accurate data, accessible systems and continuously improve its processes.
The District Council will still be responsible for updating and maintaining the LLC register. It will also continue to directly provide replies to CON29 enquiries, which allow the potential purchaser of a property to find out specific information relating to that property such as road schemes, planning history, building regulations for example.
Cllr Anne Parry, Regulatory Portfolio says: "The District Council remains committed to enhancing the home buying process by transforming its Land Charges service.
"The combined efforts of Council officers and HM Land Registry staff working together on this programme are to be commended during these challenging circumstances. Their achievements signal the start of a new era for the Land Charges service."
Further information regarding the transfer will be posted on the Council website: Land Charges | Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Further information about the HM Land Registry Local Land Charges Transformation Programme can be found here: HM Land Registry: Local Land Charges Programme
