Land searches online

Citation

(2001), "Land searches online", Property Management, Vol. 19 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2001.11319aab.021

Land searches online

Land searches online

The national launch of NLIS (National Land Information Service) dealt a serious blow to gazumping when in July 2000 the Lord Chancellor announced the preferred bidder to take the project from a regional pilot to a national scheme.

The naming of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd as the consortium due to be awarded the licence for the "Hub" of the new service means comprehensive online land information services thoughout England and Wales will soon be available.

The "Hub" is the gateway, which will make possible electronic access to a vast array of property information available from a range of sources at the click of a button. Using NLIS, the searches necessary to complete the conveyancing process could take minutes not weeks.

Once the "Hub" is in place, the award of up to four licences to provide channels to different types of information will be just around the corner. This includes information such as local authority and land registry searches, and environmental data. With this infrastructure set up, a comprehensive National Land Information Service across England and Wales could be up and running early in 2001.

Announcing the "Hub" preferred bidder at a launch ceremony in London in June 2000 the Lord Chancellor said:

This announcement moves government into pioneering territory. The National Land Information Service was the first "Channel Implementation Project" to be announced in the Modernising Government White Paper. It is a prime example of effective partnership between central and local government and the private sector. Channel projects are designed to use third parties to transmit a range of government information quickly and effectively to and from a variety of target audiences.

The National Land Information Service has been run as a highly successful pilot project in the Bristol area – so much so, that the six month pilot initially set up in 1998, has been retained. Building on this pilot, an injection of funds from the Government's Invest to Save Budget has helped to move this vast project on in a very short space of time.

I am delighted that [the] announcement of the preferred bidder will pave the way for a fast search facility across England and Wales within a matter of months. It is an important component in helping to make e-conveyancing a reality. Let me congratulate the public and private sector partners involved in developing this unique service.

Supporting the announcement, Housing Minister, Nick Raynsford said:

I am delighted that the NLIS project has successfully reached this important stage. I fully support NLIS as an important initiative to help speed up the home buying and selling process, in line with the Seller's Pack and other Government initiatives.

The NLIS project has been taken forward by the Local Government Information House (LGIH) on behalf of a partnership between HM Land Registry and the IDeA (Improvement & Development Agency) representing Local Government.

Peter Coilis, Chief Land Registrar and Chairman of the NLIS National Executive Board, said:

Ever since William the Conqueror and the Domesday Book, people have wanted to go to one place to find out all they need to know about land and property. NLIS exploits information technology to make a reality of that ageold vision. This is what Modernising Government really means – all the information in one place at the click of a mouse.

We wish MacDonald Dettwiler, as preferred bidder, every success in building and managing the "Hub" once the final contract is awarded. We will value working in partnership with them to make the project a success. I look forward to channel licences being awarded by the LGIH to further private sector consortia shortly.

Mel Usher, Executive Director of IDeA, said:

NLIS as a national reality will revolutionise the housing market. Hold-ups are usually caused by the amount of time it takes to do some of the land searches – now people will be able to move the process along at a pace that suits them. With more than 1.4 million homes bought and sold in England and Wales every year, this is a joined-up government project that will be of real, tangible benefit to just about every man or woman in the street at some time in their lives.

Further information can be obtained from the NLIS Web site on www.nlis.org.uk