Gateway 2 suite of guidance published by CLC

1 New practical guidance published to support those submitting and Assessing applications for building control approval for a new Higher-risk building
2 Summary of the Guidance suite
3 Comments on the guidance
4 Further resources from CLC
5 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] New practical guidance published to support those submitting and Assessing applications for building control approval for a new Higher-risk building

On 21 July 2025 the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) published a suite of guidance on Building Control Approval Applications for a new Higher-Risk Building (Gateway 2).

This guidance has been produced in collaboration between the CLC, industry stakeholders and the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). It provides the baseline principles to guide those involved in submitting and assessing applications for Building Control Approval for Higher-Risk Buildings and includes practical recommendations on the approach and submission of relevant information.

[edit] Summary of the Guidance suite

An application for Building Control Approval should provide quality, detailed information that clearly and comprehensively demonstrates how the design and construction of the Higher-Risk Building will comply with the Building Regulations 2010. Further details can be found on the CLC website. The guidance suite is summarised in one document and covers:

Guidance Note 01 – The Building Safety Regime for a new Higher-Risk Building: Provides a process map outlining the three gateway stages — planning (1), building control approval (2), and completion (3)
Guidance Note 02 – Sufficient Level of Design: Defines required design detail to evidence compliance and explains the two approval routes: full approval or “Approval with Requirements” (i.e., conditional approval)
Guidance Note 03 – Approval with Requirements: Details the criteria and management of conditional approvals, including submission of a compliance plan with timeline
Guidance Note 04 – Application Information Schedule: Recommends a structured schedule that maps design documents to relevant Building Regulation requirements and flags items pending conditional approval.
Guidance Note 05 – Application Project Brief: Encourages a concise project summary for the BSR portal’s “Description of Work” field to help allocate appropriate review teams.
Guidance Note 06 – Application Document Management and Submission: Sets out best practice for folder structure, file naming, and managing updates and responses to Requests for Further Information.
Guidance Note 07 – Application Strategy: Advises early engagement and submission of a strategic plan for staged or multi-building applications, ideally 6+ months ahead

The CLC and BSR regularly engage to address the Grenfell Inquiry recommendations, industry culture and performance challenges. Government, the Regulator and industry are committed to deliver buildings and facilities that are safe for those who live and work in them. In Spring 2025, CLC established a joint BSR and industry Task and Finish Group to review the project journey through the building control process to improve the quality and achieve greater consistency of the industry submissions and speed up the responses from the Regulator.

This guidance forms one of the group’s key deliverables and proactive work will continue to address priority areas and maximise communication to the industry, providing confidence to investors and developers that the system is working and the backlog of applications is reducing.

[edit] Comments on the guidance

Karl Whiteman, Berkeley Group Divisional Chairman and Industry Sponsor for the CLC’s Building Safety Workstream, said:

“The CLC has worked closely with the BSR and a broad range of leading technical experts from across the sector to develop robust and practical guidance for Gateway 2 applications. This will help to improve the quality of submissions, ensure the regulator can approve them swiftly and consistently, and enable the sector to increase the delivery of safe and high-quality homes.

“On behalf of the CLC I want to thank the many expert contributors to these guidance notes, including members of Local Authority Building Control, Construction Industry Council, Build UK, the G15 (a membership group of London’s leading housing associations), Construction Products Association, Royal Institute of British Architects, Architectural Technical Leads Group and the Home Builders Federation.”

Tim Galloway, Deputy Director, Health and Safety Executive, said:

“We’ve supported construction industry leaders to write guidance, that speaks industry’s language, to help improve the quality of the applications that are being submitted. The guidance will help applicants demonstrate to themselves and BSR that their designs and plans will result in the safe, quality homes we all want. Applications that clearly demonstrate compliance are approved faster, and everyone in BSR wants those designs and plans off the page and onto site as quickly as possible.”

[edit] Further resources from CLC

The CLC is a collaboration between government and industry. Its mission is to provide sector leadership to the construction industry. The expanded CLC has twelve workstreams that operate collaboratively to address the biggest issues facing the sector. Workstreams include skills and inclusion, building safety, Net Zero and business models.

The CLC is co-chaired by Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Sarah Jones MP and Mark Reynolds, Mace Group Executive Chairman. The Deputy Co-Chair is Richard Robinson, AtkinsRéalis, President - Asia, Middle East and Australia.

The CLC provides a number of resources relating to Building Safety