Gateway to success: BSR’s new approach to high-rise building control applications

A significant but welcome change of approach for the BSR, if as stated, it supports better gateway application outcomes and reduces avoidable delays. These changes can be briefly summarised as:

• Targeted engagement may be offered to those submitting multiple applications to help improve consistency and overall quality.
• Structured pre-application meetings and direct conversations with case officers and technical specialists.
• Applicants can share their forward plans with the BSR, highlighting upcoming projects or applications linked to the same development.
• “Proactive engagement opportunities” may be offered for complex or unusual projects.

The intention is that by engaging with the BSR early developers will now be able to “…. test assumptions, resolve uncertainties and strengthen their applications. Reducing both the risk of rework and the likelihood of delay“.

The BSR has also published guidance on “What good looks like” for applications and has coined the mantra for this as:

• Identify – what needs to comply
• Clarify – the standards in use
• Justify – the compliance case

The statistics on reasons why applications are rejected make sobering reading – 50% of existing building applications and 45% of new build applications have been rejected for failing to comply with building regulations. Let’s hope that these new collaborative procedures help to improve those figures, and quickly.

For more information see : Getting building control applications right – Making Buildings Safer

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