The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has outlined plans to accelerate high-rise remediation projects across England through a new enforcement-focused unit targeting buildings with unsafe cladding systems.

The regulator’s newly established Remediation Enforcement Unit (REU) will focus initially on around 600 high-rise residential buildings over 18 metres in height that contain combustible aluminium composite material (ACM) or high-pressure laminate (HPL) cladding systems.

The REU has been introduced as part of the Government’s wider Remediation Acceleration Plan, which aims to speed up external wall remediation and improve the efficiency of building control approvals.

According to BSR, the unit will directly contact Principal Accountable Persons (PAPs) responsible for affected buildings in order to verify building information, assess fire risk investigations and secure remediation action plans with clear delivery timescales.

The regulator said it intends to take a more proactive approach to monitoring remediation progress, while also using compliance notices where building owners fail to demonstrate reasonable progress.

Regulator warns remediation goes beyond cladding replacement

During a recent webinar hosted by BSR, Sandra Tomlinson explained that remediation requirements extend beyond simply replacing cladding panels.

She said: “The unsafe is referring to the combustibility of that material and how materials are put together. As the external wall system might create a risk of fire spread. “It’s not just about any one material.

“I think it’s very easy to talk about cladding and remediation of cladding. But it’s not just about the cladding.”

The webinar also outlined the regulator’s expectations around Gateway 2 and Gateway 3 applications under the higher-risk buildings regime.

Construction teams urged to improve remediation planning and submissions

Josh Paulin, Operational Policy Advisor at BSR, said many building control application rejections relate to incomplete project information and insufficient planning detail.

He said: “We have no prior knowledge of your planned project. “The first time we gain insight is when it is submitted.

“So, inclusion of a clear project brief with visuals can greatly assist.”

Paulin added that the regulator wanted to support remediation projects progressing through the approvals process.

He said: “The regulator really does want to approve your applications, and we really want to work with you to get approvals and for you to carry out this really crucial work that you’re proposing.”

The regulator said PAPs responsible for known ACM and HPL buildings will now be required to review building information online and complete remediation action plan questionnaires as part of the enforcement programme.

BSR said the key message for building owners, developers and project teams was that detailed early-stage assessment and robust remediation planning would be essential to avoid delays and enforcement action.