Lee Wingate is the director of civil and structural engineering at consultancy McBains
The construction industry faces a new critical bottleneck. Approvals for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) at gateway two stage have accelerated following the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) reforms to clear the much-reported backlog in applications, although many applications still exceed the statutory 12-week timeframe. With early gateway two projects expected to start progressing to gateway three in the fourth quarter of this year and into early next year, that third and final checkpoint has emerged as 2026’s defining challenge.
“There’s an opportunity to learn from gateway two’s challenges before gateway three becomes overwhelmed”
Earlier this year, a Freedom of Information request by a law firm revealed that 44 schemes were waiting over three months for gateway three approval, with the longest case taking 550 days. For developers and specialist contractors, this shift from construction delays to occupation delays creates a different but equally acute financial pressure.
The BSR has demonstrated it can evolve and improve. Its October 2025 data showed progress; the BSR committed to clearing 88 of 91 legacy gateway two applications, a target largely met by year-end, with over 700 decisions made in the fourth quarter.
The BSR has launched a batching system to process applications after acknowledging that the original multidisciplinary team model was not effective. Gateway two approval times have been driven down from 48 weeks in London to 13-14 weeks. These changes demonstrate that private sector capacity can accelerate approvals without compromising safety.
The regulator also became a standalone body under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 27 January. This is a significant step forward; one of the recommendations from the Grenfell Inquiry phase two report was the creation of an independent regulatory body.
Now, as focus shifts to gateway three, the question is whether similar innovations could prevent a new bottleneck from developing. Gateway three approvals are supposed to take eight weeks, but the Freedom of Information request mentioned above showed 55 of 158 applications last year took over three months.
No new-build HRB that has gone through gateway two has yet applied for gateway three approval; that wave is still coming. However, the sector has an opportunity to learn from gateway two’s challenges and build a more scalable system before gateway three becomes overwhelmed.
Emerging solution
The challenge at the gateway three stage is different from that of gateway two. It centres on the need to demonstrate a ‘golden thread’: the comprehensive documentation proving a completed building complies with regulations. This in turn requires detailed verification of what was actually built versus what was approved, including via building regulations compliance statements, fire and emergency files, and complete safety information. Currently, the BSR must review all of this for every project.
However, a solution is already emerging. The BSR’s batching system shows the regulator recognises it must leverage external expertise. Construction Leadership Council guidance published in December 2025 sets out a process for staged approvals, and similar principles could apply to gateway three verification. Rather than the BSR signing off on everything, accredited third parties should sign off on specific elements, such as structural compliance, fire safety systems and building fabric verification, similar to the category 1 and 2 checks used in structural engineering. This would take pressure off the BSR, which could sit as an umbrella over the private sector, where SMEs can be more agile and efficient.
Many SMEs have complex project experience and could undertake gateway three sign-offs, helping prevent a backlog from developing. Through close discussions with professional bodies like the IStructE, ICE and ACE, we could bring together chartered professionals to provide verification experience that the BSR could leverage to ensure completed developments could be occupied without delay. This is where HRB-registered engineers could really make a difference, by helping to verify compliance and unlock the occupation of HRBs.
The BSR has acknowledged facing national skill shortages and challenges with complex technical expertise. With gateway three emerging as the critical pressure point, now is the time to formalise and expand the use of SME expertise beyond the current pilot batching system.
Such a pragmatic approach, applying lessons learned from gateway two to gateway three before the backlog develops, could ensure the building-safety regime harnesses the full capacity of the UK’s engineering sector and prevents completed buildings from sitting empty for months awaiting approval.
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