STRATFORD District Council has landed itself a gold award.
The land services team received the gold standard from HM Land Registry for “delivering the very best service” between July and September 2025.
The team is responsible for preparing local authority searches for solicitors and conveyancers acting on behalf of clients looking to buy, lease or re-mortgage a property, or a piece of land.
The searches they conduct identify whether there are any legal restrictions affecting land or property, upon which completion of a sale would be binding, such as conditions imposed on planning permissions, conservation areas and listed buildings status.
More detailed searches include other pending matters such as tree preservation orders, responsibility for any road maintenance, parking restrictions, compulsory purchase orders and whether a property falls within a contaminated area of land.
This year HM Land Registry introduced a categorisation system to tell each authority if their data is classified as bronze, silver, or gold. Local authorities that reach and maintain gold status are publicly recognised on GOV.UK in a ‘status’ column which is updated quarterly.
SDC’s planning spokesperson Coun George Cowcher said: “It is great to receive this external recognition for the quality services that we are delivering here at the district council. There are many aspects of work in the council which go unseen, so to receive something publicly is very welcome and this is proof that we are providing gold standard services.
“This achievement reflects how the service has been transformed through the deployment of new systems and, most importantly, the hard work of our dedicated staff. This award is richly deserved, and the whole authority can be proud to receive it.”
SDC is now permitted to use a specially designed gold banner on correspondence and its web pages as long as current performance levels and commitment to excellence is maintained.
