The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has warned that Labour’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes is at risk unless the Government fixes severe delays at Gateway 2, the approval system for higher-risk buildings.
Gateway 2, introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022, requires developers to secure approval from the Building Safety Regulator before work can begin on high-rise schemes. Designed to strengthen fire and structural safety, it has instead created a major bottleneck in housing delivery.
A new survey of CPA members – including some of the UK’s largest tower crane and construction plant companies – found that more than 150 high-rise projects are currently stalled, with cranes standing idle and supply chains in limbo. With Government statistics showing that over 60% of high-rise schemes are in London, the delays are hitting the capital hardest – at a time when housing pressure is already most acute.
Members were asked to report the number of schemes where equipment has been contracted but remains unused due to outstanding Gateway 2 approval. With some of the biggest operators reporting delays of over 40 weeks on projects that should have been cleared within a fortnight.
The CPA, which represents over 1,900 firms that supply the machinery and equipment critical to construction projects, warns that Gateway 2 is hitting plant-hire companies particularly hard, as crane fleets and machinery sit unused while developers wait for the green light to build.
This warning comes on top of the latest S&P Global data showing an eighth consecutive month of declining construction business activity – its sharpest rate since Covid – and insolvency figures revealing construction firms made up 15.2% of all business failures in July 2025.
Steve Mulholland, CEO of the Construction Plant-hire Association, said: “Gateway 2 has become a regulatory roadblock grinding housebuilding – and Labour’s wider infrastructure ambitions – to a halt. Over 150 tower cranes are sitting idle, creating financial pain across the supply chain. When projects are stalled for months, firms can’t keep people on the books with no work coming in, so holding on to skilled labour becomes harder than ever – let alone funding and training the next generation. Unless the Government acts, Labour’s housing pledge will stay an ambition, not a reality.”
Construction bodies are warning that unless Gateway 2 is fixed, the delays already paralysing projects will only grow.
With more schemes set to enter the system, the backlog will worsen, costs will rise further, and confidence across the supply chain will erode. Without urgent action, the UK risks not only missing Labour’s 1.5m homes target but also driving skilled workers out of the sector – leaving the country with a smaller, weaker construction base just as demand for housing and infrastructure peaks.
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