Once Gateway 2 approval has been granted, you must manage any change to the design or construction of a higher-risk building through a formal change control process. You must comply with the agreed documents throughout the build, assess each change against your change control plan and record it in your change control log.
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) accepts staged Gateway 2 applications, so the design can be submitted and approved in stages rather than all at once.
- Major changes
- BSR approval needed before any related work
- Notifiable changes
- Tell BSR before the work starts; no approval needed
- Change control plan
- Sets out how you identify, assess and manage changes
- Staged applications
- Accepted at Gateway 2
- Change records
- Change control log and golden thread
- Major change decision
- Up to 6 weeks, unless an extension is agreed
- Unapproved major change
- Criminal offence: unlimited fine and/or imprisonment
Major changes undermine the basis on which the project was approved. They include changes to fire safety measures, structural design, escape routes, the number of storeys, external walls and a material change of use. Notifiable changes could affect compliance with building regulations but are less significant, such as changes to the construction control plan or the layout within a single flat. BSR may ask for more information, and if it says a notifiable change should have been a major change application, you must stop the related work. If you are unsure, ask BSR.