CLC Publishes New Guidance for HRB Building Control Approval (Gateway 2 BSR Applications)
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC), in partnership with industry stakeholders and the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), has produced a suite of guidance documents to support successfully making an application for a Building Control Approval Application for a new Higher-Risk Building (HRB) (Gateway 2).
The guidance provides the baseline principles to guide those involved in submitting and assessing applications and includes practical recommendations on the approach and submission of relevant information.
The guidance included is as follows:
- The Building Safety Regime for a New Higher-Risk Building
- Sufficient Level of Design
- Building Control Approval with Requirements
- Application Information Schedule Annex 4A
- Application Project Brief Annex 5A
- Application Document Management and Submission Annex 6A
- Application Strategy - for a Single Building Staged Application or Applications for a Multi-Building Development Annex 7A
Further CLC guidance on building control approval can be found here.
NFRC encourages all Members currently working with the Building Safety Regulator to consult the guidance notes and ensure they are aligned with best practice.
This guidance is likely in direct response to industry concerns that the current regulatory system, while essential for ensuring safety, has introduced untenable delays that are critically hindering housing delivery. These delays, coupled with high rejection rates (around 75%), are impacting project timelines, increasing costs, and potentially hindering housing delivery.
The government also recently announced a major reform package for the BSR, designed to speed up the delivery of safe, high-quality homes while maintaining a strong focus on resident and building safety.
A new board is being established under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to oversee the BSR. This marks the first step in the transition of the BSR’s responsibilities from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to an arm’s length body dedicated to building regulation.
The Government has appointed Andy Roe KFSM, former Commissioner of London Fire Brigade, as the non-executive Chair of the new shadow board. He will work alongside the newly appointed BSR CEO, Charlie Pugsley, to drive forward improvements to the BSR’s structure and performance.
A new measure introduced is also the creation of a Fast Track Process within the BSR. This will bring in additional inspectors and engineers to address backlogs and accelerate the review of both new-build applications and remediation decisions. The BSR is significantly expanding its workforce, aiming to add over 100 new staff members to bolster its capacity and reduce delays. This increase represents a 60% growth in the BSR's workforce. While this is welcome news, questions remain over where this influx of experts will come from in a sector already struggling for expertise.