Fears of contractor ‘instability’ mount amid gateway three delays
Delays to gateway three approvals for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) may trigger financial “instability” among contractors, according to industry analysts.
Their warnings came as a Freedom of Information (FOI) request showed 44 schemes are still awaiting a gateway three decision more than three months after those applications were submitted to the Building Safety Regulator.
The statutory timeframe for a gateway three decision is eight weeks.
Geoff Wilkinson, managing director of Wilkinson Construction Consultants, told Construction News: “For a lot of these projects, the profit margin is low.
“It doesn’t take a lot of delay and additional bridging costs before you’ve wiped out any profitability.
“That will undoubtedly lead to further instability for contractors.”
He added: “I would be shocked if we didn’t see further contractor failures, particularly subcontractors.”
Wilkinson’s comments echoed previous concerns expressed by Rudi Klein, a barrister and former chief...