National recognition for council’s work to support housing market

Work carried out by West Suffolk Council to support the local housing market and the economy, has seen it independently recognised in national awards.

Local land charges data is a crucial part of the home buying and selling process. Transactions can be delayed and chains can collapse if the data is not accurate and kept up to date.

HM Land Registry’s Local Land Charges Programme is transforming the local land charges services delivered by local authorities in England and Wales, into a single, national, digital Local Land Charges Register.

This change will make the conveyancing process quicker and simpler, enabling property-buyers to instantly access online information that identifies restrictions or obligations on property.

Locally that data is managed and fed into the central register by West Suffolk Council’s Planning Technical Support Service.

Now West Suffolk Council has been named runner up in the Best Migrated Local Authority category of the 2026 Land Data Awards for Excellence.

Councils do not apply for the award and are selected by HM Land Registry based on key performance criteria, including time taken to register new charges and accuracy of entries.

West Suffolk won the award in 2024 meaning that the council has been independently identified as demonstrating a consistently high level of service.

That in turn supports the council’s strategic priorities for Affordable, Available and Decent Homes, and for Sustainable Growth.

West Suffolk Council has also received a certificate of recognition from HM Land Registry, to commend the “outstanding achievement” of maintaining high quality data standards when managing the Local Land Charges Register.

Frank Stennett, the cabinet member for Growth at West Suffolk Council, said: “Buying or selling a house is stressful. The professional pride of our service is making a difference in helping prevent further delays to sales so that people can move into their new home.

“It’s supporting affordable, available and decent homes for our local housing market. It’s also vital to commercial land sales helping bring sustainable growth, investment and jobs to our area.

“West Suffolk is a great place to live and work, and I am delighted to see this independent national recognition for the professional excellence of our service.”

For more information on the services West Suffolk Council provides please visit the Land Charges page on our website

The Best Migrated Local Authority Award was announced recently as part of the Local Land Charges Training and Development event.

Other award categories include Customer Satisfaction, Best Performing Local Land Charges Department, Local Authority Searches Team of the Year, Best Performing Searches Team Member and the Unsung Hero Award.

Since their launch in 2008, the annual Local Land Charges Awards for Excellence remain the only national awards celebrating the achievements and successes of Local Authority Local Land Charges departments across England and Wales.