The Land Registry has announced a revised programme of structural changes that will mean fewer office closures and job cuts.
Following consultation on proposals to reduce its operating costs, the Registry will now close three of its 17 offices in 2011, rather than five as had been envisaged.
The Stevenage and Tunbridge Wells offices will close by 30 June 2011. The Portsmouth office will close by 28 February 2011 but Land Registry will retain a limited presence in the city within the council offices until 31 March 2013.
Land Registry will keep open its Croydon and Peterborough offices, which had been earmarked for closure. Following the sale of the central London head office, the organisation’s staff will move to Croydon.
In a statement, Land Registry said the changes will reduce by a third the number of staff who will face redundancy. Staff numbers will reduce to just over 5,000 by the end of 2011 and to around 4,200 by the end of 2014. The number of clerical staff performing operational roles will be reduced by 150 posts by 30 June 2011, rather than the 400 posts originally proposed.
The Registry’s five-year transformation programme, announced in October 2009, was triggered by the decline in the housing market, which reduced the income of the self-funding body. The changes are designed to reduce its operating costs by about £500m over 10 years.
Chief land registrar and chief executive Marco Pierleoni said: ‘The aim of the plans announced today is to bring certainty and financial stability as quickly as possible and to secure the future of Land Registry in these very difficult times. This is not back to business as usual but a critical part of a longer-term vision to enable Land Registry to respond to the changing needs of its customers,’ he said.
‘We will employ fewer people and occupy less estate, as more of our work is delivered online, and we will continue to create a comprehensive register and develop add-value services,’ Pierleoni added.
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