HM Land Registry has adopted a new approach based on clusters to migrating councils to its central Local Land Charges (LLC) Register.
It has also said it is aiming to sign up at least 60 – five times the existing number using the register – during 2021-22.
Land Registry has taken the new approach after two years of slow progress in bringing councils onto the register - which provides a centralised platform for searching for local land charges, since it was launched in mid-2018. So far just 12 have signed up.
Its LLC programme director Mark Kelso said it is necessary to step up the pace and that it will begin to focus on regional areas, or ‘clusters’, of local authorities that we will look to migrate at a similar time, while adhering to local restrictions.
“Laying the foundations for this new approach will provide significant benefits,” he said. “Working with local authorities in specific areas means that management and coordination between HM Land Registry and local authorities flows naturally.
“Migrating wider regions allows local authorities to share knowledge and support each other through the experience – something we’ve already found very beneficial to the process. We will also provide greater benefit to customers and local enterprise partnerships, many of whom operate in regions that span local authority boundaries.”
Actively working
He added that more than 60 local authorities are now actively working with Land Registry or preparing their data for migration, and communications have gone out to 30 inviting them to begin the work.
“Migrations will vary in terms of what support is required, but moving forward the LLC Programme will have a rotating stock of authorities to support and progress simultaneously,” Kelso said, adding:
“Improving the LLC service will make it easier and quicker for infrastructure and housing developers to make informed decisions about their projects with the immediate availability of LLC data.”
In recent months Land Registry has acknowledged the slow progress of migrating councils to the register but said it has been learning lessons from the experience of those that have done so.
In July it revealed details of having developed support packages and made changes to its data analysis dashboard and pre-migration service assessment.
