Personal Searches

Appointments

It is the intention of North Norfolk District Council to treat all personal search requests fairly and equally. A personal searcher should make an appointment at least 24 hours in advance of his or her visit (see below for details) and with be asked to provide one or both of the following:

• Email address
• Address of the land/property to be searched

Appointments are made on a first come, first served basis, during 'core time'. The first appointment is at 9.30am and the last at 15.45. The personal searcher may have to re-book any search(es) not completed by 16.00. Generally speaking, it is not advisible to book searches outside of core time.

An online booking system has been developed for those wishing to undertake a personal Land Charges search. You must login to the system before you can make a booking.

See:  Land Charges Personal Searches Online Booking Form

In the interest of fairness, personal searchers will be allocated fifteen minutes to complete each search. If a time slot has been booked and the personal searcher feels able to complete more than one search in this time, no limit will be placed on the number of search allowed. If the personal searcher is likely to over-run his/her appointment time it may be necessary to re-book any unfinished searches.

Personal searchers should endeavour to keep an appointment and notify the Land Charges section as soon as possible in the event that an appointment cannot be kept. The Council will consider an appointment has been cancelled if the personal searcher has not arrived thirty minutes after the appointment time, unless prior notification is received. In such circumstances, the cancelled appointment will have to be re-booked: a new appointment may not be available on the same day.

Personal searchers arriving early for an appointment will be accommodated where possible, but should be prepared to wait. Likewise, those arriving late will be accommodated where possible, but personal searchers should either be prepared to wait until a suitable slot occurs or re-book the visit. This will apply only when the personal searcher arrives less than thirty minutes after his/her appointment time or prior notice of late arrival has been received.

There may be times when the system is unavailable for technical reasons, prior notification will be given, but personal searchers should be aware this may not always be possible. If technical problems occur during the personal searchers visit, the searcher should inform the Planning reception staff immediately. If the problem cannot be resolved within 30 minutes the personal searcher may either:

1. Re-book the visit.
2. Leave a plan (clearly delineating the property to be searched) for Land Charges staff to plot. The personal searcher must allow a full 48 hours before a return visit to view the information. The search result will be viewed in at the personal search computer in Planning Reception. If the search has been paid for on a previous visit no additional cost will be incurred.