Gateways two and three: the programme effect after permission
Planning permission used to be the point at which a residential tower became a construction programme. For higher-risk buildings it is now the point at which a second approval process starts, with its own clock.
For a higher-risk building, planning permission is the start of a second approval process rather than the end of the first. Building safety gateway two is an application for building control approval to the Building Safety Regulator, determined before building work starts. Gateway three is the completion stage, and the building cannot be occupied until the certificate is issued and the building registered.
Both sit outside the planning system entirely. Both are shaped by decisions taken inside it, which is why they belong in a developer's planning-stage thinking rather than being handed to the contractor later.
What each gateway requires and who decides
Planning Gateway One sits in the planning system, through the fire statement requirement and the regulator's role as statutory consultee. That stage is covered in the gateways for planning teams.
Gateway two is different in kind. The regulator becomes the building control body for the work, and the application has to show a developed design with the fire and structural strategies worked through, competence declarations for the duty holders, and the arrangements for managing information through the project.
Gateway three closes the loop. The completion certificate application is supported by as-built information, and occupation depends on the certificate and on registration of the building with an accountable person identified.
The thread running through all three is that the regulator expects to see the same building described consistently at each stage. Contradictions between the planning submission and the gateway two application are noticed.
How gateway two changes the pre-construction programme
Under the previous regime a scheme could start on site with a partially resolved design and develop the detail during construction. That option has gone.
Three consequences follow for the programme. The design has to reach a materially more developed state before any start on site, which moves design fees and design time earlier. The determination period is a fixed block of weeks during which no building work can begin. And the contractor procurement route has to accommodate both, which usually means a two stage arrangement rather than a single stage tender.
Budget the determination period from a valid application rather than from submission. Incomplete applications are returned, and the time spent assembling what was missing is time the programme does not get back.
Note that this sits alongside the planning obligations, not instead of them. A start on site still needs the pre-start planning conditions discharged and the section 106 completed. Three gates, three timetables, one start date.
Change control during construction
The regime distinguishes between changes that require approval before they are carried out, changes that are notifiable, and changes that are simply recorded.
The practical effect is cultural as much as procedural. On these buildings, a late substitution of a cladding component or a change to a compartment line is not a site decision. It is a process with a timetable, and the timetable can be longer than the float in the programme.
Two habits help. Freeze the elements that are hardest to change, particularly the external wall build-up and the core arrangement, before the gateway two application rather than after. And build a change register from day one, because the information will be needed at gateway three whether or not anybody kept it.
Value engineering exercises carried out after gateway two approval are where this bites hardest. A saving identified in month eight can cost more in programme than it recovers in cost.
Gateway three and occupation
The completion stage needs the as-built information to match the approved design, with any changes properly recorded and approved along the way. A building where the change record is incomplete arrives at gateway three with a problem that cannot be solved quickly.
Occupation depends on the certificate. For a build-to-sell scheme that means completions cannot happen, and for a build-to-rent scheme it means no income. Either way the cost of delay at this stage is the highest on the project, because everything else has been spent.
Programme it explicitly. A handover date set on the assumption that the certificate follows practical completion automatically is a date that will move.
Interaction with planning conditions already imposed
Planning conditions and the gateways can pull in different directions, and the developer sits between them.
A condition requiring approval of external materials before works above ground level, discharged on a sample panel, can be overtaken by a gateway two requirement that changes the specification. A condition fixing a landscape scheme can conflict with fire service access requirements confirmed later. A condition requiring a particular boundary treatment can obstruct an appliance route.
The way through is to flag the interactions at planning stage and ask for conditions drafted with enough flexibility to accommodate the later regime, without giving the authority a reason to refuse. Where a change is needed after permission, a non-material amendment or a section 73 application is the route, and both take time that should be in the programme.
Design decisions at planning stage that constrain later gateways
Some decisions are effectively final once permission is granted, because changing them means going back to the planning authority.
| Planning stage decision | Effect at gateway two |
|---|---|
| Number and position of stairs | Determines the evacuation strategy and whether it can be approved |
| Core size and floor-to-floor height | Constrains firefighting shaft, lobby and riser provision |
| External wall build-up and attachments | Sets the materials case and the balcony construction |
| Appliance access and hardstanding positions | Fixed by the approved site layout |
| Water supply route and hydrant positions | Limited by the consented external works |
| Roof plant and enclosure arrangement | Affects both the storey count and the fire strategy |
None of these can be left for later resolution in the way they once were. That is the real change, and it argues for bringing the fire engineer into the design team before the planning application rather than after permission.
The Fire Statement submitted with the application records the assumptions those decisions rest on, and the fuller Fire Safety Strategy develops them. Fire engineering competence is legally required for both, and any AI-assisted draft PlanScope produces is a starting point for that engineer rather than a substitute for one.
Programme allowances that are realistic
Three allowances are worth carrying in any appraisal for a building in scope.
A design development period before gateway two submission, measured in months rather than weeks. The statutory determination period, taken from validation rather than submission, with a contingency for a request for further information. And a completion and certification period at the end, before any occupation.
Add to that the cost of change control discipline throughout, which is a real overhead rather than an administrative one. Schemes that have priced it honestly are the ones that finish close to programme.
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Frequently asked questions
What is gateway two?
An application for building control approval made to the Building Safety Regulator for a higher-risk building, which has to be determined before building work starts. It requires a developed design, a fire and structural strategy, competence declarations and the information management arrangements. It replaces the ordinary building control route for these buildings, and there is no option to start work and resolve details afterwards.
How long does determination take?
The regulations set determination periods, commonly quoted as around twelve weeks for a new higher-risk building and shorter for work to an existing one, with extensions by agreement. Those periods run from a valid application, and validation itself can take time where the submission is incomplete. Confirm the current periods against the regulations rather than budgeting from a figure heard on another project.
Can enabling works start before gateway two?
Some works fall outside the definition of building work for these purposes, and demolition, site clearance and certain groundworks are often programmed before approval. The boundary is not always obvious and getting it wrong is serious. Take advice specific to the scheme rather than assuming a category of work is safe.
What is a major change during construction?
A change significant enough that it requires the regulator's approval before it is carried out, as opposed to a notifiable change that is notified, or a recorded change logged in the information record. The categories are defined in the regulations. The practical effect is that late design changes on these buildings carry programme risk that did not exist under the previous regime.
What happens at gateway three?
An application for a completion certificate, supported by the as-built information, following inspection. The building cannot be occupied until the certificate is issued and the building is registered with the regulator, with an accountable person identified. Planning a handover date without allowance for this stage is the most common programming error on these schemes.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.