Understanding the BSR Gateways
On the morning of the 13th of February, we attended the Houses of Parliament alongside Resibuild Events and David Jones (The Institute of Construction Management) to deliver the outputs from the BSR roundtable series run by Resibuild late last year, engaging in crucial discussions on fire safety and the new Gateway regime. At the meeting at Portcullis House and the Palace of Westminster, we delivered some key findings to parliament that we’re pleased to share today.
What are the delays to BSR Gateway 2?
Our first key finding was that due to ongoing uncertainty around submission requirements, approvals are stalling at Gateway 2 of the new regulatory framework. This has led to a lack of new Higher Risk Residential Buildings (HRRB – defined as having at least 7 storeys or being at least 18m in height and having a minimum of 2 residential units) breaking ground.
HRRBs are an enormous part of our construction industry and the area where balcony packages are most commonly sold. As a leading balcony manufacturer and supplier, we have taken all steps available to us to make balconies as safe as possible and include interventions to help HRRBs pass Gateway 2 from a balcony perspective.
Using the Sapphire Product Passport, we provide rigorous processes to ensure the quality of manufacture and installation – taking true responsibility for the whole process as a ‘safe pair of hands’ to work with.
We regard the visible balcony and the concealed supports as a single system. Balconies are fully finished offsite while the anchors are prepared for casting into concrete slabs or post-fixing to other types of building frames. Our ‘buck stops here’ philosophy shows our willingness to accept responsibility for the whole balcony process and demonstrate our ‘safe pair of hands’ competencies.
Why has laminate glass been banned on balconies?
Our second key finding was that despite extensive research commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we are still waiting for laminated glass to be added as an exemption to the combustible cladding ban six years on from its initial, inadvertent, ban.
After the fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017, where 72 individuals tragically lost their lives, the Combustible Cladding Ban and a series of amendments to The Building Regulations 2010 came into effect. They predominantly address the use of combustible cladding on the external walls of a building.
Industry opinion is generally in favour of adding laminate glass as an exemption to the Approved Document B exemption list. Considering that there is a lack of consistency with windows in the regulations, it appears that the non-exempt status of laminate glass for balconies is an abnormality as windows do not protect against a fall, whereas the inclusion of laminate glass on a balustrade would do so.
Adding laminate glass on balconies to the exemption list would provide a safety net for those looking to pass Gateway 2 – with an exemption, developers and architects could use laminated glass without requiring additional fire engineering assessments, reducing compliance complexity. Furthermore, Gateway 2 itself could become more straightforward to navigate, reducing project delays, the Gateway 2 bottleneck and costs while maintaining stringent safety standards.
How can we protect SME investment in fire safety?
Finally, we found that the construction industry is making significant investments in product testing, demonstrations of competency, system improvements and third-party accreditation. However, there are still concerns about international low-cost alternatives that may undermine the drive for proven competency and robust safety measures.
As the leading balcony manufacturer and supplier in the UK, we have taken a strong stance on making fire safety both accessible to all developers and streamlined by innovation with our StubGuard® fire-stopping solution.
Learn more about StubGuard® on our product page:
Navigating the new Building Safety Regulator regime can be tricky, so expert guidance is fundamental. Our whitepaper covers the navigation of Gateway 2, clarity on regulation definitions, fire safety innovation and digital tools.
For more information on Gateway 2 and current constraints around the new Building Safety Regulator, read the whitepaper we delivered to Parliament:
Understanding the BSR Gateways #2
On the morning of the 13th of February, we attended the Houses of Parliament alongside Resibuild Events and David Jones (The Institute of Construction Management) to deliver the outputs from the BSR roundtable series run by Resibuild late last year, engaging in crucial discussions on fire safety and the new Gateway regime. At the meeting at Portcullis House and the Palace of Westminster, we delivered some key findings to parliament that we’re pleased to share today.
What are the delays to BSR Gateway 2?
Our first key finding was that due to ongoing uncertainty around submission requirements, approvals are stalling at Gateway 2 of the new regulatory framework. This has led to a lack of new Higher Risk Residential Buildings (HRRB – defined as having at least 7 storeys or being at least 18m in height and having a minimum of 2 residential units) breaking ground.
HRRBs are an enormous part of our construction industry and the area where balcony packages are most commonly sold. As a leading balcony manufacturer and supplier, we have taken all steps available to us to make balconies as safe as possible and include interventions to help HRRBs pass Gateway 2 from a balcony perspective.
Using the Sapphire Product Passport, we provide rigorous processes to ensure the quality of manufacture and installation – taking true responsibility for the whole process as a ‘safe pair of hands’ to work with.
We regard the visible balcony and the concealed supports as a single system. Balconies are fully finished offsite while the anchors are prepared for casting into concrete slabs or post-fixing to other types of building frames. Our ‘buck stops here’ philosophy shows our willingness to accept responsibility for the whole balcony process and demonstrate our ‘safe pair of hands’ competencies.
Why has laminate glass been banned on balconies?
Our second key finding was that despite extensive research commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we are still waiting for laminated glass to be added as an exemption to the combustible cladding ban six years on from its initial, inadvertent, ban.
After the fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017, where 72 individuals tragically lost their lives, the Combustible Cladding Ban and a series of amendments to The Building Regulations 2010 came into effect. They predominantly address the use of combustible cladding on the external walls of a building.
Industry opinion is generally in favour of adding laminate glass as an exemption to the Approved Document B exemption list. Considering that there is a lack of consistency with windows in the regulations, it appears that the non-exempt status of laminate glass for balconies is an abnormality as windows do not protect against a fall, whereas the inclusion of laminate glass on a balustrade would do so.
Adding laminate glass on balconies to the exemption list would provide a safety net for those looking to pass Gateway 2 – with an exemption, developers and architects could use laminated glass without requiring additional fire engineering assessments, reducing compliance complexity. Furthermore, Gateway 2 itself could become more straightforward to navigate, reducing project delays, the Gateway 2 bottleneck and costs while maintaining stringent safety standards.
How can we protect SME investment in fire safety?
Finally, we found that the construction industry is making significant investments in product testing, demonstrations of competency, system improvements and third-party accreditation. However, there are still concerns about international low-cost alternatives that may undermine the drive for proven competency and robust safety measures.
As the leading balcony manufacturer and supplier in the UK, we have taken a strong stance on making fire safety both accessible to all developers and streamlined by innovation with our StubGuard® fire-stopping solution.
Learn more about StubGuard® on our product page:
Navigating the new Building Safety Regulator regime can be tricky, so expert guidance is fundamental. Our whitepaper covers the navigation of Gateway 2, clarity on regulation definitions, fire safety innovation and digital tools.
For more information on Gateway 2 and current constraints around the new Building Safety Regulator, read the whitepaper we delivered to Parliament:
