Property Week Calls On Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook To Act

Irwin Mitchell’s Real Estate team is supporting the campaign led by Property Week to address the delays in the Gateway 2 building control approval process. This initiative aims to expedite the approval of high-rise residential developments, which are currently hindered by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

In a recent open letter to the Housing minister Matthew Pennycook, Property Week highlighted the unintended consequences of the Building Safety Act, which, despite its positive impact on construction safety, has resulted in significant delays for new housing projects. The letter emphasised the need for a mandatory liaison phase between the BSR and developers to streamline the approval process and ensure timely construction starts.

Specialist construction lawyers at Irwin Mitchell echo these concerns and supports the call for improved communication and collaboration between the BSR and developers.

The firm believes that early and ongoing dialogue will help reduce the burden of non-compliant submissions and enable the BSR to better manage its resources, ultimately leading to faster approvals and the timely delivery of much-needed housing.

Irwin Mitchell’s recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request reveals that 1,837 applications to commence higher-risk building work (known as Gateway 2 applications) have been made since the BSR was established in October 2023. The average time taken for approval was 25 weeks – more than double the timeframe for new builds, and three times the deadline set for refurbishments. The longest time taken to approve a higher-risk building or Gateway 2 application was 62 weeks.

"We stand with Property Week in urging the government to enforce mandatory liaison through appropriate secondary legislation," said Robert Tunningley, Construction Partner at Irwin Mitchell.

"As Property Week stated in their letter, 'It is in the interests of the BSR, developers and ultimately the public, to ensure submissions at this stage are able to pass through the system within the statutory timeframes to enable safe construction to start as soon as possible.'"

The letter also noted, "Dialogue should also better enable the BSR to achieve its original 12-week timeframe for Gateway 2 decisions, while also providing developers with more certainty around costs and schedules."

“We support initiatives that promote efficient and safe construction practices. We look forward to collaborating with industry stakeholders to resolve the Gateway 2 approval issues and accelerate the delivery of new homes,” added Robert.

Irwin Mitchell is hosting a panel discussion on the Building Safety Act at a UKREiiF fringe event next week. The session will take place on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, from 8:30 to 10:30 am at Irwin Mitchell's office, 4 Wellington Place, Leeds, LS1 4BZ. This event will bring together industry leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the Building Safety Act, focusing on its impact on high-rise residential developments and the Gateway 2 approval process.