Gateway 2 approval rates have continued to improve, but the Building Safety Regulator was still managing 1,505 live building control applications at the end of June 2026, underlining the scale of the regulatory workload facing higher-risk building projects across England.
Official BSR data shows that 368 Gateway 2 decisions were made across all application categories during the 12 weeks to 28 June 2026. Of those decisions, 284 were approvals, producing an overall approval rate of 77%. New higher-risk buildings and conversions achieved an 89% approval rate, while external remediation reached 85% and internal works achieved 73%.
The improving percentages are significant, but they do not mean Gateway 2 has become a short or predictable process for every project. Median approval periods remained 22 weeks for new higher-risk buildings, 35 weeks for external remediation and 28 weeks for internal works. London alone accounted for 900 applications in the published regional breakdown.
LCM assessment: BSR’s latest figures show genuine operational improvement, particularly for new-build and remediation decisions. However, the 1,505 live applications reveal a system still carrying substantial volume, legacy work and evidence-heavy internal refurbishment cases. Approval percentages are moving in the right direction, but project teams should not confuse a stronger decision rate with guaranteed programme certainty.
Jump to: The data at a glance | What the figures mean | New-build performance | Remediation | Internal works | London workload | Statutory and actual times | BSR resources | Project implications | What applicants should do | LCM verdict | FAQ
Gateway 2 Performance at a Glance
| Application Category | Cases in Progress | Decisions in 12 Weeks | Approval Rate | Median Approval Time | Construction Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New HRBs and conversions | 138 | 37 | 89% | 22 weeks | Approvals covered 6,544 residential units, but 30,383 units remained within live applications. |
| External remediation | 342 | 85 | 85% | 35 weeks | The approval rate is strong, but older cases continue to raise the rolling median. |
| HRB internal works | 952 | 237 | 73% | 28 weeks | Internal works form the majority of the live Gateway 2 caseload and recent decisions. |
| Transitional cases | 73 | Not separately stated | Not separately stated | Not separately stated | Reverted projects can be difficult to assess because evidence expected under the current regime may be unavailable. |
| All Gateway 2 categories | 1,505 | 368 | 77% | Varies by category | The live caseload reduced only slightly during the 12-week reporting period. |
Critical distinction: The 77% figure is the approval rate among decisions made during the rolling 12-week period. It is not the percentage of all 1,505 live applications that have been approved. The decision rate, live caseload and time taken must be assessed together.
What the Latest Gateway 2 Figures Actually Mean
The headline trend is positive. BSR made 368 Gateway 2 decisions during the latest rolling period and approved 284 cases. The total number of live applications also moved down from 1,536 in the week commencing 6 April to 1,505 in the week commencing 22 June. However, that reduction is modest relative to the size of the system. New applications continued to arrive throughout the period, while older and more complex cases remained under assessment. The caseload therefore represents a moving pipeline rather than a fixed backlog that can be cleared once and disappear.
LCM’s earlier analysis, Gateway 2 Is Creating a Two-Speed Construction Industry, argued that regulatory performance increasingly depends on whether project teams submit coordinated, construction-ready evidence or rely on incomplete design information assembled late. The new figures reinforce that distinction: stronger approval rates coexist with long median periods and a substantial live caseload.
New Higher-Risk Buildings Show the Strongest Approval Rate
New higher-risk buildings and conversions recorded the strongest performance. BSR made 37 decisions during the period, approving 33 and rejecting four. The resulting approval rate was 89%, with a median approval time of 22 weeks. Approvals represented 6,544 residential units. At the same time, 138 live new-build and conversion applications represented 30,383 units still moving through the system. The figures therefore support two conclusions: BSR is approving substantial housing capacity, but the volume of homes dependent on pending applications remains considerably larger.
The 22-week median also remains longer than the 12-week assessment period normally stated for new HRB applications unless an extension is agreed. That does not establish regulatory breach in individual cases, because extensions, application complexity and information requests affect elapsed time. It does mean developers should avoid building investment programmes around the statutory period alone. For teams preparing new schemes, LCM’s simple guide to building control approval for higher-risk buildings explains the difference between application validation, technical assessment and approval to begin work.
Remediation Approvals Rise, but Older Cases Distort the Timeline
External remediation achieved an 85% approval rate across 85 decisions, with 4,998 residential units approved. BSR reported 342 live remediation applications representing 30,962 units. The median approval period remained 35 weeks. BSR explains that this figure includes older applications that have been in the system for a considerable period and are now being resolved. Fourteen legacy applications dating from 2024 remained, down from 42 at the beginning of 2026.
This means the median should not be interpreted as the expected outcome for every newly submitted application. BSR states that more recent applications are progressing faster, particularly where submission quality has improved. Nevertheless, a 35-week rolling median remains commercially important for resident programmes, funding agreements, contractor mobilisation and access planning. The practical preparation standard is examined in BSR’s New 7-Point Checklist Could Speed Up High-Rise Remediation, which explains why construction-ready design and a clear compliance narrative are essential before submission.
Internal Works Now Dominate the Live Caseload
Internal work on higher-risk buildings is the largest Gateway 2 category. BSR recorded 952 applications in progress, equivalent to around 63% of the total live caseload. These applications include Category A and B refurbishment work and NHS projects. During the reporting period, BSR made 237 decisions on internal works, representing around 64% of all Gateway 2 decisions. The approval rate was 73%, with a median approval period of 28 weeks.
The data also recorded 299 internal-work applications as invalid or withdrawn during the period. That number is a warning about more than regulator capacity. It indicates that application scope, validation requirements and submission readiness remain significant industry problems. Internal work may appear smaller than a new tower or full façade programme, but it can affect fire compartments, structure, services, escape arrangements and occupied-building risk. Clients should not assume that a limited physical work package will receive a correspondingly simple or rapid Gateway 2 assessment.
London Holds 900 Applications in the Regional Breakdown
The capital remains the main pressure point. BSR’s regional breakdown lists 900 Gateway 2 applications in London: 89 new HRB and conversion cases, 192 external remediation cases and 619 internal-work applications. London accounted for 59% of live new-build applications and 55% of the residential units within that category. Its new-build approval rate reached 91%, slightly above the national rate, while the median approval period for non-complex cases remained 22 weeks.
For London developers and contractors, the higher approval rate is encouraging but does not remove concentration risk. The capital’s project volume places continued demand on multidisciplinary assessment teams, while complex sites must coordinate fire, structure, façades, existing buildings, residents, logistics and third-party infrastructure. LCM’s analysis of why some London projects move faster through Gateway 2 than others identifies design maturity, validation readiness and evidence coordination as major sources of timetable divergence.
Why Statutory Periods and Published Medians Are Different
Official guidance states that, unless an extension is agreed, BSR will take up to 12 weeks to assess applications for new higher-risk buildings and eight weeks for work to existing higher-risk buildings. The published median approval periods are longer across each principal category.
The difference does not mean every application exceeded a legal deadline without agreement. Applications may be complex, extensions may be agreed and BSR may require further information. The dataset also contains older cases whose determination raises the rolling median even when newer applications move more quickly. For project planning, however, the median is still more useful than a best-case assumption. Clients should programme for validation, technical queries, design responses, multidisciplinary review and decision conditions rather than treating the statutory period as a guaranteed construction start date.
BSR Is Expanding Its Assessment Capacity
BSR reported that 152 internal staff members and 493 external specialists had been involved in building control applications. The external group included 222 registered building inspectors, 108 fire-service professionals, 125 structural engineers and 38 other specialists. Sixty-four external experts were integrated into the Innovation Unit or external remediation teams. BSR is continuing to recruit and forecast additional integrated capacity through 2026.
These headcounts should not be treated as 645 full-time staff dedicated exclusively to live case assessment. Availability differs, and some external specialists work fewer than five days per week. The more important signal is that Gateway 2 depends on a large multidisciplinary resource model that BSR is still expanding. The regulator’s 2026–27 strategic plan aims to respond to non-complex new-building Gateway 2 applications within 18 weeks or less by the end of March 2027. It also set a minimum approval-rate ambition of 65%. The current approval percentages exceed that rate, but the 22-week new-build median shows that the response-time objective has not yet been reached.
What the Data Means for Project Programmes
Gateway 2 remains a legal construction hold point. Building work requiring approval cannot begin simply because planning permission, finance, procurement or contractor mobilisation is complete. For developers, a pending application can affect land drawdown, development finance, pre-sales, grant conditions and contractor start dates. For main contractors and specialists, it can delay procurement release, design responsibility, labour planning and supply-chain commitments.
The latest figures suggest that well-prepared applications have a better chance of approval than during the regime’s earlier phase. They do not support treating Gateway 2 as a routine administrative submission. Evidence quality, design freeze, competence, fire and structural coordination, change control and construction sequencing remain central to the decision.
What Gateway 2 Applicants Should Do Now
Separate validation from approval: confirm that every mandatory document is present, but also demonstrate clearly how the proposed work complies with each relevant requirement.
Submit construction-ready information: do not rely on major fire, structural, façade or services decisions being completed after Gateway 2.
Create one compliance narrative: drawings, calculations, reports and specifications should support the same coordinated design rather than leaving assessors to resolve contradictions.
Plan for a realistic determination period: use current category medians and project complexity when setting contractual milestones, finance dates and mobilisation assumptions.
Resource technical responses: keep the principal designer, fire engineer, structural engineer and contractor-side specialists available to answer BSR queries without delay.
Protect the design freeze: late commercial substitutions or scope changes can undermine the evidence used for approval and create additional change-control exposure.
LCM Verdict: Gateway 2 Is Improving, but It Is Not Yet a Predictable Production Line
The latest BSR data provides credible evidence of progress. Overall approvals reached 77%, new-build approvals rose to 89% and external remediation reached 85%. The live caseload also reduced slightly over the reporting period.
But 1,505 applications remained in progress, including 952 internal-work cases and 73 transitional applications. London carried 900 applications in the published regional breakdown. Median approval periods remained materially longer than the basic statutory assessment periods commonly used in early project programmes.
Final LCM assessment: Gateway 2 is moving from crisis management towards a more capable operating system, but it has not become automatic or uniformly fast. The strongest applications are increasingly reaching approval, while incomplete, legacy and technically fragmented projects remain exposed to delay. For construction, the operational message is clear: regulatory readiness must be designed into the programme before submission, not assembled after the planned start date.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Gateway 2 applications were in progress?
BSR reported 1,505 applications in progress as of 28 June 2026. The total includes new buildings and conversions, external remediation, internal works and transitional cases.
BSR reported 1,505 applications in progress as of 28 June 2026. The total includes new buildings and conversions, external remediation, internal works and transitional cases.
What was the overall Gateway 2 approval rate?
Across 368 decisions made during the rolling 12-week period, 284 applications were approved, producing an overall approval rate of 77%.
Across 368 decisions made during the rolling 12-week period, 284 applications were approved, producing an overall approval rate of 77%.
Which category had the highest approval rate?
New higher-risk buildings and conversions had the highest published rate at 89%, followed by external remediation at 85% and internal works at 73%.
New higher-risk buildings and conversions had the highest published rate at 89%, followed by external remediation at 85% and internal works at 73%.
How many Gateway 2 applications were in London?
The official regional breakdown listed 900 applications in London, comprising 89 new HRB and conversion cases, 192 external remediation cases and 619 internal-work applications.
The official regional breakdown listed 900 applications in London, comprising 89 new HRB and conversion cases, 192 external remediation cases and 619 internal-work applications.
Why are median approval periods longer than eight or 12 weeks?
The published medians include older and complex cases, and assessment periods can be extended by agreement. Application quality, technical queries and the time needed to supply further information also affect the final timetable.
The published medians include older and complex cases, and assessment periods can be extended by agreement. Application quality, technical queries and the time needed to supply further information also affect the final timetable.
Can construction begin while Gateway 2 approval is pending?
No. Building work requiring Gateway 2 approval must not begin until BSR has approved the building control application. Validation alone does not authorise construction.
No. Building work requiring Gateway 2 approval must not begin until BSR has approved the building control application. Validation alone does not authorise construction.
Sources and methodology: This article was prepared using official information available on 31 July 2026. The performance figures were checked against the Building Safety Regulator’s building control approval application data for April to June 2026, which states that the data was correct as of 28 June 2026. Operational commentary was checked against BSR’s official Gateway 2 application data update. Application requirements and assessment periods were reviewed against the official building control approval guidance for higher-risk buildings. BSR’s future performance objectives and resourcing direction were checked against the Building Safety Regulator strategic plan 2026–27. Confirmed statistics and regulatory requirements are distinguished from LCM analysis of programme, procurement and commercial consequences.
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Expert Verification & Authorship: Mihai Chelmus
Founder, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist |
