Havering Council’s Local Land Charges team nominated for prestigious industry awards

Since 2008 these national awards have highlighted the work and achievements of local authority Local Land Charges teams which carry out the land and property searches required for conveyancing transactions in England and Wales and celebrate the very best that the Local Land Charges community has to offer. 

If you have ever moved home then you will be familiar with the service that the Local Land Charges team provide.

They support homebuyers to access comprehensive property search information, helping to improve the home-buying and selling process.

The Council’s team are a finalist in four of the eight awards and this represents the fourth year they have entered, having received a ‘highly commended’ for Customer Service in 2018.

The Havering Council Team have been shortlisted in four of the eight categories, including:

Best Customer Experience Award

The Best Customer Experience Award celebrates and promotes excellence in customer experience rewarding those teams whose efforts help to deliver an exceptional customer experience and industry-leading levels of service.

Local Authority Searches Team of the Year

This Award acknowledges that producing a Local Authority search requires input from a wider Local Authority team. 

The Digital Data Award

In an effort to improve the transparency, speed and efficiency of the property buying and selling process Local Land Charges teams are undertaking a range of data digitisation and cleansing projects.

This award category recognises the importance of high-quality data and focuses on the five characteristics of high-quality information.

Accuracy, Completeness, Consistency, Uniqueness, and Timeliness.

The Unsung Hero Award

The National Land Information Service (NLIS) hub helpdesk team votes for the Unsung Hero. It is an opportunity to recognise a team or individual within a Local Land Charges team that they feel consistently makes an extra effort to work with them to make the search process as seamless as possible. 

This year, they have nominated Hayley Ayris, Havering’s Local Land Charges Manager as someone who greatly impresses them.

The Leader of Havering Council, Councillor Damian White, said: “I’m really proud as this is a fantastic recognition for the Council. Our Local Land Charges team work very hard to offer a fantastic service to our residents.”

Helen Oakerbee, Assistant Director of Planning, added: “Although the team is small, every member cares deeply about what they do and have a real sense of pride in their work. I am thrilled that Hayley and her team have been shortlisted and wish them the very best of luck at the awards.”

The awards take place on 2 March 2020.