Navigating the Building Safety Act: the challenges of Gateway 2
Article posted on: 20 May 2025
As we head to UKREiiF 2025, the annual event that drives real estate and infrastructure investment across the UK, it’s a good time to look at the issues affecting our industry.
We are certain that the Building Safety Act, which is perhaps having the biggest impact on the work we and our partners are doing, will be on everyone’s lips at the three-day event on 20–22 May 2025.
The Building Safety Act and the “golden thread”
The Building Safety Act 2023 aims to enhance safety in higher-risk buildings through a structured, three-stage approval process known as ‘Gateways’.
In short, the process is intended to enable the consistent and open flow of information about a building throughout its life cycle – from the design and construction phases to ongoing maintenance and decommissioning.
As explained in our previous blog, this “golden thread” of building life cycle information includes details about design specifications, materials, methods of construction, and maintenance requirements. This addresses elements like long-term sustainability, design integrity, functionality, and safety.
For consultancy teams like ours, maintaining this “golden thread” helps our clients to produce clear and accessible records of a building’s construction and maintenance history to guarantee the initial success of a project and longevity of a structure.
What is Gateway 2?
As laid out in the Building Safety Act, a key part of this overall process is Gateway 2, which ensures that building designs meet safety standards before construction can commence.
Currently, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) aims to process Gateway 2 applications within 12 weeks for new-builds.
However, industry anecdotes and recent reports in the media suggest that navigating Gateway 2 is causing significant delays to construction projects across the UK.
An article in Building magazine claims that the average processing time has extended to 22 weeks, with some projects even experiencing delays of up to 40 weeks.
These delays are being attributed to several factors, most notably the outsourced delivery model for application assessments, which can be time-consuming to convene, and reports of resource constraints, resulting in a backlog of projects awaiting Gateway 2 approval.
And, perhaps most worryingly, the Building Safety Regulator’s deputy director, Tim Galloway, recently highlighted that around 20% of Gateway 2 applications are rejected because they are invalid.
Galloway puts this down to applicants’ inability to demonstrate that the building design complies with the legislative requirements. This should be demonstrated via a coherent narrative, rather than simply stating that the project complies with the regulations.
But what are developers to do in this increasingly complex regulatory landscape when trying to get new, higher-risk developments off the ground?
Mitigating Gateway 2 delays
Delays at Gateway 2 will undoubtedly have a tangible impact on construction timelines and costs, which can make some development unviable.
To mitigate the impact of Gateway 2 delays, we advise our partners to consider the following before instigating a new project:
Early engagement: Initiate early discussions with the BSR to understand all the necessary requirements and expectations of the Gateway 2 process.
Comprehensive applications: Ensure that Gateway 2 submissions are complete and meet all regulatory standards to avoid rejection or resubmission.
Resource planning: Anticipate potential delays in project timelines and budget accordingly to accommodate the much-reported extended approval periods.
The key is action: by proactively addressing these challenges, you can better navigate the complexities of the Building Safety Act in the pursuit of the timely delivery of safe, high-quality buildings.
A proactive approach to Gateway 2
At Clancy Consulting, we work closely with our development and contractor partners to help them navigate all the complexities of building design, build and regulation.
We can help developers navigate the complexities of Gateway 2 in numerous ways, including:
Early-stage design compliance: We engage with our partners and the BSR at the project outset to ensure that designs meet the regulatory requirements, reducing the risk of rejections and delays.
Comprehensive documentation: Our team prepares the detailed, coherent narratives to demonstrate compliance that the BSR expects, minimising the likelihood of invalid applications.
Strategic project planning: We assist in developing realistic project timelines that account for potential regulatory delays, helping to manage your stakeholders’ expectations and aid proper financial planning.
Well-documented project delays caused by Gateway 2 are creating serious challenges for developers: hindering project delivery, inflating costs, and restricting new housing supply at a time when we need to be building more homes, quicker.
We currently have several HRB projects at different stages through the gateway process. This includes one of the first retrospective applications.
Get in touch with our team
At Clancy Consulting, we are committed to supporting our clients through these complexities, leveraging our expertise to achieve compliance, mitigate risks, and ensure project viability.
For developers seeking guidance through Gateway 2 and beyond, our expert team offers the experience and insight necessary to navigate the Building Safety Act effectively.
To discuss how to navigate Gateway 2 and ensure your project designs meet minimum requirements, connect with the Clancy Consulting team at UKREiiF 2025.
We’ll be in attendance on all three days, ready to share insights, strategies, and practical solutions.
Get in touch with Daniel Singh, Director at Clancy Consulting to arrange a meeting.