Minister meets developers to find ways to speed up BSR applications

The building safety minister has said “all possible options” are being looked at to help the trouble-hit Building Safety Regulator (BSR) fulfil its functions, and has met with developers to hear their concerns.

Alex Norris said his department acknowledged that delays to high-rise projects were being caused by problems in processing planning applications, in the wake of the new building safety regime brought about by the Building Safety Act 2022.

“The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is exploring all possible options with the BSR to ensure it is equipped for the high demand of applications,” Norris said in a written answer in Parliament to shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake.

While Norris did not say what those options were, he pointed to the extra funding the government has given the BSR for more building control caseworkers and in-house technical specialists.

“The benefits of this additional funding will continue to scale up in the coming months,” he said.

Under the BSR’s post-Grenfell regime, developers are required to pass through three gateway stages to get sign-off for a residential development taller than 18 metres.

The BSR’s well-documented issues have sparked frustration across the sector, with projects delayed and applications rejected.

Philip White, director of building safety at the Health and Safety Executive, told Construction News last month that IT issues had also delayed the regulator’s processing of applications.

However, Norris also highlighted that a “significant number of poor-quality applications that do not meet the regulatory standard are contributing to overall processing times resulting in delays”.

The minister added: “It is clear that the sector must also take responsibility for the projects it delivers.”

Norris further revealed he had hosted a roundtable on 28 April with the BSR and developers to “discuss [the] industry’s concerns”.

He added: “Both MHCLG and the BSR welcome direct engagement with industry and are prioritising the need to improve the rate in which applications can progress through the system first time, lessening the rate of invalidated and rejected applications.”

The BSR is also meeting weekly with the Construction Leadership Council to tackle issues around the new gateway process, Norris revealed.