Worrying delays in land searches

I have been receiving lots of complaints from individual constituents, businesses and local estate agents in recent months about the amount of time it’s taking to do land searches in Exeter.

There seems to have been a problem in Exeter City Council’s land search service. Earlier in this summer I was assured this was being addressed, but the latest figures are showing a rise rather than a fall in the back-log. This is very worrying and should be an absolute priority for the council to address.

I completely understand that all local authorities are under serious financial pressure and Exeter in general has managed these pressures extremely well. But delays in completing land searches can have a damaging effect on the local economy, slowing down buying and selling – the wheels of exchange that keep the economy moving.

In the light of the latest figures I am asking the council what action they are taking to address this problem and calling on them to do so as a matter of urgency.