BESA welcomes ‘renewed urgency' in safety regime

​​​​​​​BSR chair Andy Roe promised to clear the backlog at planning Gateway 2 for higher-risk buildings (HRBs)

The Building Engineering Services Association has praised the new team running the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) for making rapid progress in improving the planning process, but it has also called for a renewed focus on remediation projects.

Recently appointed BSR chair Andy Roe promised to clear the backlog at planning Gateway 2 for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) that had stalled the new-build housing market without compromising stringent safety standards introduced under the Building Safety Act.

He created a centralised ‘Innovation Unit’ of planning specialists and a ‘batching system’ to focus on the most significant new build projects, covering nearly 34,000 homes.

These are now being assessed rapidly. Most of the 150+ HRB schemes are expected to clear the system by the end of the year.

Antiquated IT systems and a shortage of experts, particularly in the computational fluid dynamics required to assess complex fire safety designs, have undermined the planning process. Roe and his team are still addressing these issues.

He is also appointing a team of ‘account managers' to work with major developers and address their concerns, which dramatically reduced investment in much-needed housing projects this year.

“The renewed sense of urgency at the BSR is palpable,” said BESA’s director of specialist knowledge, Rachel Davidson. “This is so important because it is crucial that the industry can have confidence in the process.

However, she said slow progress on remediation projects remained a serious concern, as addressing life safety issues in existing and occupied buildings should be a priority. Over 250 remediation applications, covering over 22,000 homes, are still being held at Gateway 2.

To tackle this, the BSR planned to create a new centralised Remediation Unit, modelled on the Innovation Unit, which would speed up the batching system for existing building projects.

Building Safety Regulator CEO Charlie Pugsley said: “The regulator has been learning from the last two years, has listened to industry feedback and acted decisively through these substantial operational changes we are piloting, which have shown immediate, positive results.

“However, we recognise there are ongoing challenges, including national skills shortages, and we are committed to using agile problem-solving to work constructively with the wider sector and industry applicants,” he added in a BSR statement.