Jan Boothroyd has sadly passed away following a brave battle with cancer.

Jan Boothroyd has sadly passed away following a brave battle with cancer.

Jan dedicated her life and career to championing the role of local land charge (LLC) professionals within councils and in the wider land, property and homebuying sectors. For over 40 years Jan worked to improve and modernise the way local land searches were managed and trained and mentored hundreds of LLC officers.

Jan was affectionately referred to as the “Work Mother” by her colleagues in local government - she was always at the end of the phone for anyone who needed help, advice, or reassurance. She was a natural, charismatic leader – her quick wit, sharp sense of humour and unrivalled knowledge, drew everyone to her. She was highly respected, and always respected others.

Jan’s career began in 1980 at Westminster City Council, where she spent several years honing her LLC skills before moving on to take up more senior LLC positions at Selby District Council and Leeds City Council.

She was instrumental in setting up the first professional body for Local Land Charges personnel: the National Association of Local Land Charges Officers, now known as the Local Land Charges Institute (LLCI). In 2000 she became the Association's inaugural President.  Around this time, Jan moved to the National Land Information Service (NLIS) helping to roll out the service across local government, making the homebuying process quicker and smoother.

In 2009 Jan was made Chief Executive of Land Data, the owner and regulator of NLIS, until 2021, when she stepped down and remained as an advisor.

Jan is acknowledged as the leading Local Land Charges expert in England and Wales and the author of Garner's Local Land Charges, a book affectionately known as "the bible" by the Local Land Charge community.

Jan was a force of nature in the local land charge community, and in life.

She will be sadly missed, and very fondly remembered.