Building safety, navigated.
Gateway 2 is not simply a regulatory submission. It is a test of whether a scheme has been properly coordinated, whether the design information is sufficiently developed, whether statutory approvals and third-party interfaces have been considered, and whether the project can move into construction with a clear and defensible compliance position.
Friel Welch provides technical coordination and project-level support through Gateway 2 and the wider Building Safety Act regime. Working alongside the client, Principal Designer, Principal Contractor, and wider consultant team, we coordinate information, identify gaps, manage interfaces, and test how Contractor Design Portions are being defined, procured, and integrated into the wider design.
Our role is to help build a submission and delivery strategy that is robust, buildable, and commercially realistic, including the cost and procurement implications of baking specialist contractor design into the scheme before the supply chain is fully appointed.
Supporting the dutyholders, not replacing them
The Building Safety Act creates statutory responsibilities that sit with appointed dutyholders. Friel Welch does not replace those roles. We work alongside them.
- We do not act as Principal Designer under the Building Safety Act.
- We do not act as Principal Contractor.
- We do not certify schemes on behalf of the Building Safety Regulator.
Our role is to support the client and project team by coordinating information, managing interfaces, identifying gaps, tracking dependencies, and helping the dutyholders assemble a compliant and buildable scheme. The statutory responsibilities remain with the appointed dutyholders; we provide the technical coordination and project leadership that helps them discharge those responsibilities effectively.
Building the project behind the submission
We go beyond traditional feasibility studies, testing proposals against the realities of delivery, including structural strategy, building services, fire and building safety requirements, statutory approvals, site constraints, procurement risk, programme and cost certainty. The result is an evidence led appraisal that reduces uncertainty and helps avoid costly surprises later.
Working alongside the Architect and wider consultant team, we challenge early assumptions and sense check project briefs against cost, programme, regulation and buildability. This provides clients with confidence that the proposed development is both realistic and deliverable.
Our technical feasibility and development appraisals bring key considerations into a single, clear assessment, covering site constraints, technical viability, statutory requirements, indicative costs, programme implications and delivery risks.
The outcome is a practical decision-making tool, providing clear recommendations and next steps, enabling clients to proceed, revise or pause a project with confidence.
Coordinating the interfaces others depend on
A successful Gateway 2 submission depends on more than design information. Statutory authorities, utilities, warranty providers, specialist consultants, adjoining owners, contractors, and client-side stakeholders can all affect approval, procurement, and delivery.
Friel Welch coordinates these interfaces, tracks information gaps and dependencies, and helps the team understand the impact of Contractor Design Portions on cost, programme, procurement, and Building Safety Act compliance.
The Principal Designer retains design leadership and statutory responsibility. Our role is to provide the technical coordination, information management, and project oversight needed to move the scheme through Gateway 2 and into construction with confidence.
A submission built around approval
Gateway 2 submissions fail when the information is incomplete, unstructured, or difficult to interrogate. Drawings, reports, competence evidence, golden thread records, and compliance narratives need to work together as a coordinated submission package.
Friel Welch helps structure the Gateway 2 submission so the Building Safety Regulator can understand the scheme, the compliance strategy, the key design decisions, and the evidence behind them. We identify missing information, coordinate responses across the team, and make the compliance position explicit rather than implied.
The result is a clearer, more robust submission, reducing the risk of avoidable comments, delay, or resubmission.
Gateway 2 readiness review
Submission gaps, risks, dependencies, and approval strategy.
Technical coordination
Managing information flow across consultants, dutyholders, and specialists.
Submission package management
Structuring Gateway 2 deliverables for review and approval.
CDP and procurement review
Contractor Design Portion risks, cost impact, and procurement timing.
Statutory and third-party tracking
Authorities, utilities, warranty, party wall, and adjoining-owner matters.
Golden thread support
Document control, evidence records, and information management.
Regulator query support
Coordinating responses during the determination period.
How this connects
Building safety considerations often begin during Technical Feasibility, where the regulatory exposure of a site or scheme is identified before the project commits. As the design develops, Gateway 2 and Building Safety Support connects closely with Design Management and Technical Coordination, Technical Delivery and Construction Support, and Contractor Design Portion Management through procurement and construction.