The delays to higher-risk building (HRB) projects being experienced by parties trying to navigate the gateways processes are well known across the industry and continue to make headlines. However, what happens once those projects finally get off the ground has been little considered. The current average delay to a HRB project is 18-22 weeks at gateway 2 alone. The additional programme time and cost has to go somewhere – and the likelihood is that it will ultimately end up in court.

The Building Safety Act requires that HRBs, buildings of 18m or seven storeys in height which contain at least two residential units, must pass through the gateways process – gateway 1 before planning permission is granted, gateway 2 before work can start on site and gateway 3 at completion but before the building can be occupied. Each gateway must be passed to the satisfaction of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) or the project comes to a hard stop.

Gateway 2 approval was originally expected to take up to 12 weeks (for a new-build HRB) or up to eight weeks (for works to an existing HRB). The reality is quite different, with one delay reported of up 37 weeks for a HRB project by Wembley Park developer Quintain. Add to this further delays at the gateway 3 stage, and projects are being delivered late and at considerable additional cost. Who is responsible? 

Contractors, consultants and developers are blaming the BSR – stating that it is understaffed and unqualified to handle the quantity and type of work required. The BSR is blaming the contractors, consultants and developers, stating that 75% of the applications to the BSR are rejected because of missing or flawed information.

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