HRB building control approval applications under the new approval process, known as Gateway 2, have been facing criticism for the significant delays which have a knock on effect to construction projects.
Under the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023, the time periods for approval of building control approval applications are 12 weeks for new HRBs and 8 weeks for works to existing HRBs. However, in practice, applications are taking in excess of 30 weeks.
This delay is reportedly due to a combination of the lack of capacity in the Building Safety Regulator's ("BSR") outsourced multi-disciplinary teams ("MDT") and the poor quality, or lack of information, in the applications. It has been reported that it can take up to a month just to appoint an MDT which, in of itself, if pushing applications of the prescribed timelines.
In an attempt to unblock the Gateway process, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced today that a new 'fast track' process will be introduced in order to support the delivery of the 1.5 million new homes promised by the Government.
To achieve this, and address the outsourcing issue, building inspector and engineering capability is intended to be brought in-house so that the BSR can directly process and review applications. There will be an addition of 100 new BSR team members as part of this 'Plan for Change'.
Former London Fire Brigade commissioner, Andy Roe, will also be chairing the newly established board within MHCLG that will be taking over the functions of the BSR from the HSE in the near future. This board will act as a 'shadow board' until it has been established as an Executive Agency and is one of the 'early steps towards establishing a single construction regulator' - which was one of the key recommendations coming out of the Grenfell Phase 2 report.
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