Gateway 2 approval for McLaren’s 23-storey Manchester PBSA
The Building Safety Regulator signed off designs for the 737-bed student scheme on Upper Brook Street in 27 weeks – a sign that the process is speeding up.
McLaren Property, in partnership with its construction arm, has secured consent to start on site from the BSR, which signed off 1,500 design documents for the 23-storey project at Gateway 2 stage.
The submission was made in March and approval was given last week.
David Atherton, divisional managing director at McLaren Property said: “The Gateway 2 approval is a major milestone and follows months of hard work and a tremendous team effort, while the support of the Building Safety Regulator in navigating the process was invaluable.
“The development has achieved Gateway 2 approval in 27 weeks post submission, with no conditions, for a scheme that has two complex inter-linked buildings of scale.”
Project Four Building Safety Experts, Buro Four, Walker Sime, Sheppard Robson Architects, Tate Consulting, Roscoe, Briggs & Forrester Living, Cundall, and Re-form Landscape Architecture, all had a hand in the process.
McLaren’s Upper Brook Street scheme forms part of a wider masterplan featuring life sciences workspace from Kadans and Property Alliance Group and more PBSA from Moda.
Atherton added: “We have throughout the development process worked collaboratively with our partners at Kadans, Manchester City Council and now the Building Safety Regulator to deliver a refreshed vision for Upper Brook Street.
“We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders and with a shared focus on bringing forward a scheme which will undoubtably bring key benefits to the local area and the city.”
The Gateway 2 approval time for McLaren’s scheme is a full 15 weeks shorter than for one of the few other high risk buildings in Manchester to have secured Gateway 2 approval to date – Latimer’s Brewery Gardens got sign off in 42 weeks.
The speedier approval could be a sign that government’s interventions in June are having the desired effect.
The BSR was removed out of the scope of the Health and Safety Executive and effectively taken in-house so that the government could keep a closer eye on the process.
Andy Roe, the former commissioner of London Fire Brigade, was appointed as chair of the board set up to manage the transition. Charlie Pugsley, the current deputy commissioner of LFB, is the board’s chief executive.
That’s 15 weeks of additional financing costs!
By Anonymous
27 weeks for approval is still ridiculously slow.
By Anonymous
Why arenot these projects approved overnight blindly without investigation. If anything goes wrong blame it on the Anonymous readers letters to Place. They will accept full accountability.
By James Yates
James Yates – I take your point however if the building safety executives didn’t keep moving the goalposts and offered advice and a template to explain what they want the decision process would be quicker, efficient and safe.
By Anonymous