Searches delayed by council IT issues but no total shutdown

A local authority that last week warned that it could not provide any local searches for over six weeks has now downgraded its warning, saying there will be delays but not a total shutdown.

The six week moratorium initially indicated by Surrey Heath council was thought at the time to have been unprecedented - but now it appears to be of a lesser scale. 

A statement from the council now says: 

"Initially we understood that the software we use for Local Land Charges (LLC) would not be available during the migration to a new system, meaning that the service would need to be suspended during this time. 

"However, we have since been advised that the software will be partially operational. Therefore we will continue to deliver LLC work - however turnaround times will be longer than normal as some checks will need to be done manually.

"As a result the turnaround time during the affected period (from 9 August until mid-September) is likely to be around 10 days, which is slower than our current rate but is still in line with government guidelines. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.    

"Once the new system is installed the procedure for using this service will change, we anticipate this is likely to be in mid-September." 

The council says that its planning and building control systems, and the planning portal, will continue to operate as normal during these changes. 

It adds: “We are sorry for any confusion this has caused and hope that this information is reassuring for those needing to use this service at this time.”