Reforms to Building Safety Regulator to accelerate housebuilding
The government has just announced reforms to the BSR to “bring new leadership, investment and process to accelerate housebuilding.”
The plan is to unlock delays to the development of higher-risk buildings through a package of reforms which include:
- a new “Fast Track Process” to accelerate processing of newbuild and remediation cases;
- recruiting more than 100 new members of staff to the BSR; and
- establishing a new arm’s length body to MHCLG to take on the functions of the BSR from the Health and Safety Executive, paving the way towards creating a single construction regulator; one of the key recommendations of the Grenfell Inquiry.
The government has also teased the upcoming publication of industry guidance to improve the quality of gateway applications and so reduce processing times.
The announcement comes after recently published data revealed that the approval rate for gateway 2 applications for new build schemes is an alarming 10.7% (or 20 applications out of 187 submitted between October 2023 and May 2025).
In a challenging market, it’s reassuring to see that the government recognises that one of the key issues stymying development of high-rise buildings is delays over gateway 2 approval. Much will depend on how quickly these reforms can be implemented, but much like construction materials, good news in this area has been in short supply lately. Let’s hope this is a step in the right direction.
Subcribe to news and viewsThe government has just announced reforms to the BSR to "bring new leadership, investment and process to accelerate housebuilding."
