New-build momentum is welcome… but it’s only half the picture

The BSR’s update shows:

• 91 legacy MDT (multidisciplinary team) new-build applications to be cleared by January (representing 21,745 homes)
• 400+ Gateway Two applications (new-build and remediation) currently in the system.

With the Government’s 1.5 million homes target looming large, new-build approvals remain firmly in the spotlight, and yes, the BSR’s latest announcement is good news for the new-build market. However, focusing on these figures in isolation risks creating an illusion of wider progress.

The schemes that truly need urgent intervention – specifically the recladding projects for existing, occupied buildings – remain firmly stuck in the system, highlighting the critical safety backlog.

Thousands of homes still lack safe, compliant cladding

There are thousands of residential buildings with unsafe cladding that have yet to begin remediation.

As of October 2025, 5,570 buildings over 11 metres had been identified as requiring remediation, with only 2,705 (49%) having started or completed works, leaving over 2,865 buildings still unsafe.

Assuming these buildings would house only 25–40 homes each, that equates to between 139,000 and 222,000 homes that remain unsafe.

The regulator’s statement barely touched on them, beyond acknowledging that:

• 253 remediation applications were open as of 22 September.
• The old MDT model is now considered “ineffective”.
• A new Centralised Remediation Unit is only in planning.
• A batching system has just begun pilot testing.

The imbalance speaks for itself. And for the thousands still living in unsafe buildings, this is a continuation of the fear and uncertainty they have carried since the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Remediation cannot become secondary

At Eden Facades, we specialise in full recladding, and there is no shortage of demand for making buildings compliant with industry standards.

But an increasing number of those schemes are stalled because Gateway Two remediation approvals simply are not moving.

This stagnation has real-world consequences:

• Families continue living in buildings known to contain combustible systems.
• Approved recladding projects cannot progress to site.
• Costs rise while buildings deteriorate.
• Housing associations and councils are left unable to fulfil their legal duties.
• Trust in the post-Grenfell safety system erodes further.

As we wrote earlier this year in ‘Eight Years After Grenfell: Why Building Safety Must Still Come First’, meaningful transformation only occurs when lessons translate into action. Eight years later, too many buildings still await that action.

The industry risks relearning this lesson the hard way

The sector cannot afford another tragedy to jolt the system back into urgency, nor can the BSR afford to “lose the complete confidence” of the industry – a risk its Chair, Andy Roe, openly admitted to MPs in September.

Progress on new-build approvals is essential, but we must actively prioritise buildings with unsafe cladding to prevent further risk and protect residents.

Where we stand

As a specialist façade contractor, our job is to make buildings safe by removing unsafe cladding and reinstalling it with A-rated, fire-compliant materials. But we cannot begin that work until schemes receive approval through Gateway Two.

We are ready to support these projects immediately. Our skilled team has already delivered many successful remediation projects across the UK.

New housing targets should not overshadow building safety, and the BSR must ensure that remediation approvals progress at the same pace – and with the same visibility – as new-build applications.

Because until that happens, thousands of people remain where no one should be:
In buildings known to be unsafe.

The BSR’s headline promises progress, but as we move towards January 2026, we will be watching closely to see whether a genuine change of approach emerges – and whether this long-standing backlog is finally resolved.

If you’ve got a project in the pipeline that requires our expertise, we’re ready to help. Get in touch with our team today.