Local land charges team up for national awards
Dudley’s local land charges team is in line for two national awards this month in recognition of its outstanding service.
The team is up for the Customer Satisfaction for Local Authority Searches award and Team of the Year award in the Local Land Charges Awards for Excellence.
The team is responsible for preparing local authority searches for people looking to buy, lease or re-mortgage a property, or a piece of land.
The searches they carry out identify whether there are any legal restrictions affecting land or property, as well as information on any planning issues.
More detailed searches include checks on tree preservation orders, responsibility for any road maintenance, rights of way, compulsory purchase orders and whether a property falls within a contaminated area of land.
During the last year, the team has also worked with HM Land Registry on the transfer of the local land charges register to HM Land Registry. Dudley is the first authority in the Black Country to do this and it successfully went live on July 19 last year.
Run by Land Data the National Land Information Service (NLIS), the awards showcase best practice, value and high standards.
The winners will be announced at an online awards ceremony on Wednesday March 9.
Councillor Steve Clark, cabinet member for finance and legal services, said:
Congratulations to the team on being shortlisted for these prestigious national awards. It is very much deserved.
They are a vital link in the home-buying process, ensuring people have the information they need to make important decisions about their future.
The Dudley local land charges team delivers an excellent service and has continued to meet and exceed customers’ expectations by providing it in a timely and professional way, despite the challenges of the pandemic over the last two years.
I wish them all the best of luck in bringing the awards to Dudley.
For the Customer Satisfaction for Local Authority Searches category, solicitors and licensed conveyancers around the country are asked to nominate and provide feedback on the local authority local land charges team they believe consistently commits to delivering a high level of customer service. Voters are asked to consider quality, efficiency, reliability and value for money.
This team award recognises the hard work and considerable effort made by all Local Land Charges staff to keep their services running efficiently during these challenging times. The criteria for this year’s Award focuses on service consistency, accuracy, leadership and teamwork within the authority.