McLaren Construction and Westminster City Council have secured Gateway 2 approval for the £229m second phase of the Ebury Bridge Estate regeneration, removing the Building Safety Regulator barrier to the next stage of the 334-home programme. Phase 2 is the largest of three delivery phases at the Westminster estate and covers five new buildings. McLaren is the main contractor under a £229,340,184 main construction contract approved by Westminster City Council in December 2025.
The council confirmed the Gateway 2 approval on 12 October 2026, saying the regulator had cleared the Phase 2 buildings following months of work by the council, McLaren and the consultant team. Gateway 2 approval permits higher-risk building work to proceed in accordance with the approved building-control application, but it does not by itself prove that piling, substructure or main construction has physically started. The current project announcements describe the approval as clearing the way for major construction works to begin.
CGI of Ebury Bridge Estate Phase 2 in Westminster. Image: McLaren Construction.
£229m Is the Main Construction Contract
The £229m figure is not a development value or programme estimate. Westminster's December 2025 Cabinet decision approved McLaren Construction Limited to undertake the Phase 2 main construction works for an exact contract sum of £229,340,184. The same decision approved £250m of remaining expenditure within a wider £294m Phase 2 budget. That allowance includes the McLaren contract as well as professional fees, legal and planning costs and a 5% contingency required to take the phase through to practical completion.
McLaren's appointment followed a pre-construction services arrangement and a two-stage procurement process. Westminster had previously selected the contractor through public-sector procurement before confirming the main works award. Phase 2 will deliver 334 homes, including 228 homes for social rent. The scope also includes a central community square, new retail accommodation, play areas and a community centre, while reinstating the Ebury Bridge Road retail parade and opening new pedestrian routes through the estate.
Five Buildings Cleared Through Gateway 2
McLaren said the Phase 2 approval covers five buildings and described the regulatory process as involving four separate building safety applications and approvals. There is, however, a discrepancy between the two primary project announcements over the application count. McLaren's announcement states that five buildings required four separate applications, while Westminster's own 12 October release refers to five complex building safety applications, one for each new building.
Publicly available material does not disclose the individual BSR case references, so London Construction Magazine has not assigned application numbers or specific buildings to individual approvals. What is clear from both primary sources is that the five Phase 2 buildings have now passed Gateway 2. The regulatory clearance comes as the Building Safety Regulator's wider new-build performance has improved. London Construction Magazine's Gateway 2 Approval Index tracks the changing approval position, while the latest published data showed an 84% overall approval rate across higher-risk building categories in the 12 weeks to the end of August.
Planning Changes Added Second Means of Escape
The Ebury Bridge masterplan has been progressing through planning since the original hybrid consent under reference 20/04366/COOUT. That permission covered a mixed-use redevelopment of up to 781 homes across nine blocks, with Phase 1 granted detailed consent and the remaining estate approved in outline.
A later planning amendment approved in May 2024 brought Buildings 2 and 3 into the Phase 2 boundary and incorporated a second means of escape for Buildings 1 to 6. The change predates the current Gateway 2 approval and formed part of the developing fire and life-safety strategy for the later phases. Phase 1 was completed in December 2024 and delivered 226 homes, including 100 council homes for social rent. Once all three phases are complete, the regeneration is planned to provide 781 homes together with public squares, retail space and community facilities.
Main Construction Is the Next Delivery Stage
Westminster had previously expected enabling works to progress ahead of main construction during 2026. The Gateway 2 approval now removes the statutory building-control hold point for the Phase 2 higher-risk building works. The project team has not yet published a confirmed date for piling or the first main structural works following the approval. Until physical commencement is evidenced, the correct current position is that Gateway 2 has been approved and the project is cleared to proceed into the main construction stage.
Sources: Westminster City Council Gateway 2 announcement, Westminster Cabinet Phase 2 Full Business Case and main contractor decision, McLaren Construction Gateway 2 announcement and Westminster planning records.
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