Building Safety Regulator triples rate of Gateway 2 decisions but behind on plan to clear backlog

The unit is validating and rejecting applications in “much quicker” timescales compared to the previous model and its initial approvals have each taken around three months, in line with its 12-week service level agreement.

Charlie Pugsley, chief executive at the BSR, hailed the “immediate positive results” from the pilot schemes and said these are “now firmly established across the BSR and show a clear path to continued success”.

He added: “Across the BSR, and we believe within industry too, there is a confidence we can continue to make more decisions at an increasing pace through our new processes and by engaging appropriately with applicants.”

But the report also revealed the BSR remains behind on its plan to completely clear a backlog of 91 older new build applications by the end of this January.

At the time of the update, 40 of these so-called ‘legacy’ cases, representing some 8,400 housing units, were still due a decision by the regulator, with four estimated to be cleared by the end of December.

This means an estimated 36 historic applications will need a decision this month.

A spokesperson for the BSR said these cases are “being managed in a pragmatic way with face-to-face meetings with regulatory partners and applicants continuing in January”.

“This will allow these cases to be resolved instead of being rejected, demonstrating our commitment to supporting essential construction while upholding critical safety standards,” they added.

The update also comes weeks after a critical report by peers following the House of Lords’ Industry and Regulators Committee inquiry into the delays at the regulator.

Members of the cross-party group warned that the waiting times had severely impacted the viability of building high-rise housing and left residents living in unsafe buildings for longer due to delayed remediation schemes.

But the BSR’s December report said the rate of incoming applications for new build schemes is increasing and “likely to continue” based on engagement with developers.

While the number of remediation cases has not changed much, with around 280 in the system due to almost identical numbers of decisions and new applications, the regulator said some cases are moving forward more quickly under the batching model, and it is focusing on closing out older applications.

A spokesperson for the regulator added: “Making sure buildings with dangerous cladding are remediated quickly is also a priority and will be the focus of our new Remediation Enforcement Unit, which will begin working on cases in the new year.”