DORSET Council continues to have problems with land searches to complete house sales after experiencing an unprecedented rush to buy homes in the area.

The authority is now taking an average of 55 working days to respond to searches – compared to the target of ten. Only six per cent of all searches are now completed within the target time.

“We are significantly below where we should be in terms of performance,”  senior legal officer Jonathan Mair told a committee meeting on Tuesday.  He said it was right that councillors continued to keep the council's 'feet to the fire' over the issue.

He told  the place and resources scrutiny committee that the authority is planning a meeting in the coming days with key staff from the council’s IT, planning and legal departments to try and speed the process up.

He said that much of the increased demand, which he said was running at least double normal levels for this time of year, came partly as a result of the Government temporary reduction in stamp duty. This had coincided with work the council has been doing to bring out of date and incompatible computerised planning systems, used by the previous district and borough councils, up to date and running on the same platform.

Mr Mair said that former council systems locally were operated in different ways which had led to some searches now having to be checked manually.  He said some staff had been moved to help relieve the pressure, but there was a limit to how many could be moved without affecting other work streams.

The delays are said to be worse in the former West Dorset District Council area although Mr Mair declined to say how the previous council systems compared with each other.

Weymouth Cllr Brian Heatley said although the slow performance was being seen by many as unacceptable, he thought the target for completed searches was unreasonable, given the change of circumstances which had led to unprecedented demand.

As reported, estate agents and conveyors in Dorset say the delays are causing unprecedented issues for buyers - particularly first-time buyers - who are at a major disadvantage due to the delays, which leave them open to being 'gazumped' by cash-rich purchasers flocking to Dorset from cities.

The searches are a requirement for the majority of mortgage lenders and form a vital part of the sale process. Estate agents advised would-be buyers to be prepared and if possible obtain a 'mortgage in principle' before making an offer.

According to the estate agents we contacted, West Dorset is said to be the worst-affected part of the county with delays of up to 13 weeks.