Our Building Safety Conference Day brought colleagues together to examine what the new regulatory landscape means for clients, design teams and the people who live in and manage buildings.

The central message was clear: building safety is not simply a matter of securing approval or completing documents. It requires clear ownership, informed judgement and coordinated decision-making throughout a building’s life, from briefing and procurement to design, construction, occupation and maintenance.

Drawing on our experience across new-build, retrofit and higher-risk residential projects, the day explored how PTE's delivery and BRPD teams are navigating this complexity, and how Building Safety can be baked-in to our processes from the outset. This includes establishing clear scopes and responsibilities, coordinating multidisciplinary teams, identifying safety-critical decisions early and maintaining robust, accessible records. Our teams use design responsibility matrices, Building Regulations trackers, compliance statements and structured review processes to ensure that information is not only complete, but accurate, current and usable.

Gateway 2 experience has reinforced the importance of design maturity, early specialist input and a well-managed golden thread. It has also shown why assumptions must be tested, interfaces scrutinised and unresolved matters recorded and escalated. Whether reviewing product certification, coordinating fire-stopping details or responding to incomplete information in existing buildings, our approach is to challenge, evidence and resolve rather than rely on someone else’s sign-off.

For clients, this means fewer gaps between disciplines, greater clarity around risk and a stronger evidence base for regulatory submissions and long-term building management. It also means candid advice on programme, resources, surveys, appointments and the consequences of late change.

PTE combines detailed project experience with established Building Regulations Principal Designer processes, internal training and organisational oversight. We understand that genuine competence is not about knowing every rule. It is about asking the right questions, recognising limits, coordinating expertise and demonstrating why decisions deliver safe, durable and maintainable buildings.