The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has warned that the government’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes is at risk unless it fixes severe delays at Gateway 2, the approval system for higher-risk buildings.
Gateway 2, introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022, requires developers to secure approval from the Building Safety Regulator before work can begin on high-rise schemes.
Designed to strengthen fire and structural safety, it has instead created a major bottleneck in housing delivery, according to the CPA.
A new survey of CPA members found that more than 150 high-rise projects are currently stalled across the UK.
Members were asked to report the number of schemes where equipment has been contracted but remains unused due to outstanding Gateway 2 approval. Some operators reported delays of more than 40 weeks on projects that should have been cleared within a fortnight.
The CPA, which represents more than 1,900 firms that supply construction machinery and equipment, insisted that Gateway 2 is hitting plant-hire companies particularly hard.
Steve Mulholland, CEO of the CPA, said: “Gateway 2 has become a regulatory roadblock grinding housebuilding – and Labour’s wider infrastructure ambitions – to a halt. Over 150 tower cranes are sitting idle, creating financial pain across the supply chain.
“When projects are stalled for months, firms can’t keep people on the books with no work coming in, so holding on to skilled labour becomes harder than ever, let alone funding and training the next generation. Unless the government acts, Labour’s housing pledge will stay an ambition, not a reality.”
