Gateway 2 and 3, building safety cases, golden thread and Accountable Person duties. The higher-risk regime is demanding, and you do not have to face it alone. We work as part of your wider team, bringing the fire safety information together so that you can submit with confidence.
For higher-risk buildings, the strength of a Gateway application or safety case rests on the quality of the information behind it. Applications are commonly rejected for gaps and inconsistencies, and safety cases are weakened where the evidence does not join up.
Our role is to make the fire safety information coherent: consistent with the fire strategy, complete against the regulator's expectations, and an accurate reflection of the building as built. We understand what the regulator is looking for, and we will help you get there.
We work alongside architects, principal designers, contractors and building safety managers, contributing the fire safety input and helping hold the wider information set together. The fire strategy is the foundation. Once the building is occupied, the fire risk assessment keeps the safety case current.
Gateway 2 is the building control approval stage for higher-risk buildings; construction cannot start until the BSR approves the application. Applications commonly fail on incomplete or inconsistent fire safety information. We work with the wider stakeholder team to bring that information together coherently before submission.
Gateway 3 is the completion stage. Before a higher-risk building can be registered and occupied, the BSR must be satisfied that the building as built matches the approved design, with the evidence to prove it. We help compile that evidence and can support strategies for safe partial and phased occupation.
A building safety case is the Principal Accountable Person's ongoing demonstration that the building safety risks, fire spread and structural failure, are understood and managed. We produce the fire safety elements of the safety case report and support its ongoing management.
The golden thread is the accurate, up-to-date record of building safety information that must be created during design and construction and maintained through occupation. We assemble it, structure it and keep it usable, including the fire and emergency file.
For occupied higher-risk buildings, the Accountable Person, usually the owner or the entity responsible for the structure and exterior, holds statutory building safety duties, from registration and safety case management to resident engagement and mandatory occurrence reporting. We support APs in discharging them, and will help you understand what applies to you.
The Gateway process can feel daunting, and it is far easier with the right support in place early. Tell us where you are and we will explain how we can help and what it would involve, with a project-specific fee. We will work as part of your team throughout, so you are never facing the regulator on your own.
The descriptions on these pages outline our standard approach to each service. The scope, methodology and fee for any instruction are determined for the individual building or project and confirmed in a written proposal before work begins.