Building Safety Act: what comes next – summary and gallery

A positive solutions-focused approach to navigating the gateways under the Building Safety Act was the theme running through Project Four’s interactive event for more than 250 property and construction people.

A broad range of speakers acknowledged the challenges facing the industry while emphasising the need to focus on improvements and move forward.

This event was held at Bridgewater Hall and organised jointly by Project Four and Place North West. Project Four will publish a white paper based on findings from the day’s discussions in the coming weeks.

Expert speakers

• Alan Robson, chairman, Project Four
• Allan Binns, national director, Project Four
• Andy Cox, director, Trigon DM
• Helen Gribbon, director, Renaissance Associates
• Matt Hayward, director, Jon Matthews Architects
• Joel Lewis, construction director, Greystar
• Mo Shana’a, chief executive officer, Morta Technology
• Peter Apps, author, Show Me the Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen
• Kuli Bajwa, director, Pareto
• Colin Blatchford-Brown, BSA technical advisor, Project Four
• Aman Sharma, chief executive officer, Totus Digital
• Max King, North West project director, Muse
• Emma Evans, regulator partner, Bexley Beaumont
• Chris O’Regan, associate director, Mason Navarro Pledge
• Mark Snelling, managing director, Safetymark Consultancy Services
• Al Beevers, founder, Grey Area Consulting
• Chaired by Paul Unger and Julia Hatmaker, Place North West

Lessons learnt

• The goal is to transition from manual, reactive processes to automated, consistent compliance and visibility, ensuring trust in project outcomes
• Adopt a pragmatic approach in engaging with the regulatory Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), understanding their constraints and agreeing on reasonable timelines
• Engage with the regulator early to get feedback on design proposals
• Ensure consultants present the scheme directly to the MDT to build confidence
• Implement connected information management systems to improve data consistency, tracking, and continuous improvement
• Present submissions with clear signposting to help the regulator find information, similar to a Design and Access Statement for a planning application

What’s next – getting on site

• Review organisational competency and how it is demonstrated, not just individual competency
• Educate clients on their duties and responsibilities under the new regulations
• Provide guidance on what ‘good’ looks like for Gateway 3 submissions
• Ensure construction control plans are developed with the end in mind – Gateway 3 compliance.

In occupation

• Carefully consider the legal and moral implications when undertaking ‘emergency works’ that bypass the gateway process
• Develop a comprehensive ‘safety case model’ for each building that demonstrates how the building’s systems work together to ensure safety
• Establish competency criteria for each role and continuously evaluate individuals against those criteria
• Implement a confidential reporting system to allow individuals to raise concerns about competency issues
• Promote a culture change across the industry to prioritize competency and safety over cost-cutting measures.

Peter Apps

• The author stressed the importance of remembering the human consequences of building safety issues, and closing the ‘distance’ between professionals and the people who occupy buildings they deliver
• He called for a shift in culture towards taking personal responsibility for building safety
• The ongoing investigation by the Metropolitan Police has cost £100m and the process of bringing charges is slow…
• …but ‘someone has done something desperately wrong’ [to cause the Grenfell Tower fire] and Apps would be shocked if there were no arrests and no cases brought to trial.

‘We’ve got to keep progressing…being aware of how BSA applies to us, what things we can be doing positively, learning from our peers, learning as we go, and then hopefully we will be able to deliver the types of housing that we obviously are looking to achieve.’ Emma Evans, Bexley Beaumont

Gallery

Related Articles

United Utilities unveils winners for £205m framework

27 October 2025 09:41 Julia Hatmaker Comments (2)

Eight companies have been selected to aid the water utility company in maintaining its 184 reservoirs over the next decade.

Analysis

VIDEO | What next for hotels amid shifting consumer attitudes?

22 October 2025 10:13

The next decade is expected to be one of adaptation for the hotel and hospitality sectors in the wake of seismic changes over recent years, according to participants at a roundtable discussion hosted by DWF and Whitbread.