The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has released its October update on Gateway 2 building approval applications.
In the report, BSR confirmed that it will work through the backlog of applications by January 2026.
The BSR’s newly-established innovation unit (IU) now handles 27 of the new‑build applications – comprising 6,192 housing units – and is achieving the mandated 12‑week service level agreements.
BSR has committed to completing the 91 legacy applications under the previous model by 31 December, covering 21,745 housing units.
However, that objective will depend on resolving “specific blockers within each application”, especially the shortage of technical capacity.
A recurring technical constraint is the scarcity of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) expertise.
The report warned: “There is a currently challenge around availability of [CFD] expertise, an example of BSR having to move at pace to address new challenges.”
It has been widely reported that a series of hurdles has stalled applications. Earlier this month, the Construction Plant-Hire Association warned that Gateway 2 delays were putting the government’s new homes pledge at risk.
“Many cases face multiple impediments (staff availability, complex decisions, information needs from applicant or BSR),” the BSR report said.
The remediation side of the process is also a challenge. BSR has acknowledged that the existing multidisciplinary team (MDT) model is ineffective at the current scale. “Like new build, a volume of historic applications requires urgent resolution, and the existing [MDT] model is ineffective for these cases,” it said.
To address this issue, the regulator is planning a centralised remediation unit – similar to the IU – and has already started batching some applications to streamline processing.
For industry stakeholders – including contractors, architects, compliance leads and engineers – the report added that timely, relevant and high-quality submissions remain critical.
Delays in addressing queries or providing missing technical details could expose projects to lengthy approval cycles, especially where CFD or specialist consultation is required.
