Important changes to planning, land charges and mapping services
Updated 12 Auguest 2026
Land Charges:
Our Land Charges system is now live and we are accepting land charges searches.
Our public Land Charges Register is also now live and being updated daily.
This process is taking a bit longer than normal as it’s a new system and we need to undertake rigorous additional checks to ensure all information returned correctly. We have arranged extra team resources and staff to help get things moving.
Thank you for your continued patience. For more information and the latest updates, please see our Local Land Charges page.
Planning system now available:
The downtime for the council’s planning system is now over and the new system is available. You can access support and view the latest timetables on the new system FAQ page.
Land Charges and the Land Charges Register are now live and the new mapping system will follow in the coming weeks – we will update this page and promote the launch on our other communication channels. See further details below.
What has been happening?
During April we have been updating the software behind our Planning and Land Charges services along with the council’s mapping (GIS) system. These changes ensure these systems remains reliable, supported, and able to meet future service needs. Moving to a new system is a significant step; we appreciate that the change in layout and functionality may feel different at first.
Support resources
We have provided step‑by‑step videos demonstrating the new planning system and showing how to complete key tasks. We also have an FAQ:
Council Planning Alert System:
Everyone currently signed up to the council’s planning alert system will now need to re-register. We have emailed existing subscribers to let them know re‑registration is open and have provided instructions on what to do next.
Our planning alert system is currently unavailable while we implement a number of design improvements. We expect the service to be fully operational again by mid-August.
In the meantime, you can still create an account and set up your alerts. Once the system is back online, you will begin receiving notifications based on your saved alert preferences.
Planning applications:
During the downtime, we continued processing planning applications. However, we were unable to register applications, carry out consultations, or issue decisions. As a result, now the system is live there will be a period where we are catching up. Please bear with us as the process will take slightly longer than normal.
Land Charges:
We are now able to process Local Land Charges search requests.
There will be a delay in processing of searches because of the system downtime beyond the normal eight-day turnaround period. We will keep you informed via our websites.
Thank you for your continued patience whilst we work to reduce the backlog; our priority is to ensure accurate search results are returned.
We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience during this changeover period.
Mapping system
Our new interactive mapping system is also now available.
