Bracknell Forest Council and software provider Arcus Global have apologised after a technical fault with the borough's land charges system delayed property sales and purchases.
The problem followed the council's switch to Arcus software at the end of January. The transition was expected to pause local land searches for around five working days, with normal service resuming in early February.
Unforeseen data problems meant the new system couldn't produce accurate or complete results. Records were complex and data from the previous system could not be easily integrated. Most mapping and reconfiguration work is done, but some links still need fixing.
A council spokesperson apologised for the issue during a statement to the Crowthorne Village Action Group on Friday, April 17, and acknowledged ongoing disruption to residents and property transactions.
Cllr Iskandar Jefferies, cabinet member for leisure, culture, public protection and democracy, said the delays were "unacceptable" and had added stress for buyers and sellers. According to Cllr Jefferies the council had not anticipated the scale of the reconfiguration but stressed that accuracy could not be compromised.
He said: "We cannot risk providing local house buyers, who are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on property, with inaccurate or faulty information," he said.
He added that specialist council teams are working closely with Arcus and that "good progress" is being made. Once the system is fully operational the council plans to prioritise outstanding searches and bring in additional staff to tackle the backlog.
Arcus Global chief executive Peter Dewsbury said the company was aware of the disruption and is working "constructively" with the council to restore a full service. Both organisations are holding twice-daily progress meetings, with senior staff closely monitoring and escalating the issue.
Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter
