High rejection rates raise concerns over UK Gateway 2 application process

The Fire Protection Association (FPA) has reported that three-quarters of Gateway 2 submissions for higher-risk buildings are currently being rejected by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

The BSR, overseen by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said most applications are missing key fire and structural safety information, with issues stemming from misunderstanding requirements that have been in place for over a decade.

Tim Galloway, deputy director of the HSE, said: “Too many applicants don’t quite as yet understand what is expected of them.”

Galloway continued: “The missing details are fairly fundamental stuff. They relate to standards that are at least a decade and a half old in terms of what’s intended to be achieved, and that’s quite worrying that applications are not able to show fire safety and not able to show structural safety, which one would have expected.”

Galloway added: “What we have learned, I think, is that there’s more of a need for that investment in upfront design, that thinking to be done by those submitting the applications [happens] earlier, and that’s something that has required more transition for the industry than we’d expected.”

Industry guidance remains unclear as BSR reaffirms regulatory role

The FPA reported that many contractors have criticised the lack of clear guidance on how to meet Gateway 2 requirements.

Galloway said the BSR is cooperating with the Construction Leadership Council to support better guidance but noted the regulator’s role is not to author this material.

He stated: “I want industry to write that guidance, because it will be better than anything I could write.”

Galloway continued: “You need people who have got that deep construction industry experience, who understand the process, understand the right phraseology, understand how the designers and the architects and the other players interact, because they will write it with that in mind.”

Backlog of Gateway 2 approvals slows project timelines

According to data published by the FPA, the BSR has only approved 14 out of 45 Gateway 2 applications and one out of 13 Gateway 3 submissions that were transferred from private firms.

These figures reflect projects previously handled by private building control firms, including AIS Surveyors, which exited the market in 2024.

The HSE acknowledged the backlog and said: “We acknowledge there have been delays to processing approvals for building control applications and we are working to put this right.”

It added: “A backlog of complex in-flight higher risk projects which came into BSR after the collapse of private registered building control approver AIS Surveyors initially drove up processing times.”

BSR reports processing improvements but contractors push for changes

The HSE stated that increased resources have reduced Gateway 2 handling times for complex applications to 16 to 17 weeks, and category B projects to around 10 weeks.

The organisation said: “Outside of the backlog there are a small number of highly-complex ‘in build’ transitional cases which are not yet of a sufficient standard to be approved.”

It added: “We are taking a pragmatic approach to these cases to make sure building work can continue.”

The statement also noted: “We are confident that all the operational contingency measures we’ve put in place, including dedicated support from industry will also allow us to clear the applications in the backlog as we head into the new financial year.”

A construction source cited by the FPA argued that the current Gateway 2 system is causing construction delays and suggested deferring approvals to the final stages of build.

The source said: “The current system isn’t working but we all want to see safe buildings. We take pictures of everything for the Golden Thread so the proof will still be there for the end user and anyone who doesn’t comply with regulations will still be found out.”

UK Gateway 2 approvals stall as application rejections reach 75%: Summary

The Fire Protection Association (FPA) reported that the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is rejecting 75% of Gateway 2 submissions for higher-risk buildings.

The BSR said most applications are missing essential safety information.

Tim Galloway of the HSE said the failures relate to long-standing design standards.

Galloway stated that better upfront design is needed.

Contractors have said clearer guidance is required to meet Gateway 2 requirements.

The BSR said it is working with the Construction Leadership Council on guidance but expects industry to lead it.

Only 14 out of 45 Gateway 2 applications and one out of 13 Gateway 3 applications transferred from private firms have been approved.

The HSE said the backlog was worsened by the collapse of AIS Surveyors.

It reported that processing times for new applications are now improving.

Complex cases still face delays due to application quality.

Some contractors want Gateway 2 approval moved to later project stages.