Dorset homebuyers face council land search delays

Homebuyers are waiting, on average, 55 days for land searches

Homebuyers in Dorset are facing lengthy delays for land searches.

Dorset Council has a target of 10 days to complete searches but the process is taking, on average, 55 days.

Fewer than 6% of searches are being completed within the target timeframe, a council committee has heard.

Councillors were told delays had been due to increased demand - prompted by the government's stamp duty holiday - and work to merge the former district and borough councils' computer systems.

Senior legal officer Jonathan Mair told the place and resources scrutiny committee on Tuesday: "We are significantly below where we should be in terms of performance."

Weymouth councillor Brian Heatley told the meeting he felt the target was unreasonable, given the unprecedented demand, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Dorset Council was formed in April 2019 when five district and borough councils, and the county council, merged but delays had been an issue before then.

In 2017, the former West Dorset District Council was reporting average waits of 45 days for land searches, which it blamed on out-of-date systems that were in the process of being updated.

Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council said it was currently returning searches within five to six days.