Closure of Land Registry in Kent – Conveyancing Implications

From 1 October 2010 the Tunbridge Wells Land Registry office will no longer operate as a "Proper Office".  Paper and fax applications -by those conducting conveyancing in Kent and beyond should not send applications to the Kent office.
The Land (Proper Office) Order 2010 sets out the Land Registry offices to which Land Registry applications for specified administrative areas must be sent on and after 1 October 2010.

The changes made by the 2010 Order are part of a planned reduction in the number of Land Registry offices.

The Kent office will close by 30 June 2011, three months earlier than first scheduled

The closure, which will leave 200 workers out of jobs, was not due to take place until September 2011. About 50 staff have already left the Kent Land Registry office at Forest Court since June 2009, when the rationalization  started due to the property slump caused by the credit crunch.

The Kent office has been responsible for keeping record of land registration and charges across Kent since opening in the town in 1955. It moved into its current office in 1999.

Conveyancing firms carrying out conveyancing in Kent may lament the closure especially if they used the local Land Registry office to assist in expediting the conveyancing process . For those conducting DIY conveyancing in Kent they will no longer have access to Land Registry  staff on their doorstep to assist their transaction.