The publication of the Construction Leadership Council’s new gateway 2 guidance in July has only highlighted the considerable impact that gateway 2 rejections and delays are having on the delivery of higher-risk buildings. So much so that a cross-party committee in the House of Lords has issued a call for evidence focusing on the unacceptable 30-week or longer delays, even as gateway 2 is experiencing a rejection rate of around 70% as a result of lack of detail or failure to meet the required standards for the application. Both issues are indicative of a system that was employed without an accurate understanding of the real-world implications for those using it and, perhaps, an overestimation of the industry’s ability or willingness to change the established process.

A significant change in the new regime’s approach is the gateway 2 requirement for a narrative of compliance – the question of how the design complies with the Building Regulations, as well as what is being built. It is not the job of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to review designs to determine compliance, or to give pre-application advice on how to get designs to comply. Instead, designers must actively demonstrate the route to achieving compliance with building regulations for the first time at gateway 2.

Read more…