Latest BSR figures show 1,654 Gateway 2 applications are now live, an increase of more than 100 in a single month. The regulator said it would closely monitor whether the rise continues.

The spike comes ahead of the new Building Safety Levy taking effect on 1 October, which BSR believes may be encouraging developers to get applications into the system early.

New-build applications have already accelerated, with 34 submitted during August, and BSR said it expects numbers to climb further during September as the levy deadline approaches.

Pressure is also building from refurbishment work. BSR received 457 higher-risk building internal works applications over the latest 12-week period, against just 143 decisions, taking the live caseload for this category to 1,082.

The workload surge comes as the regulator is finally starting to make significant headway on Gateway 2 performance.

Across all higher-risk building categories it made 340 decisions over the 12 weeks to the end of August, approving 287, or 84%, covering more than 18,000 homes.

New-build performance has improved particularly strongly. Approval rates have risen to 92% with median determination times down to 22 weeks, compared with a 39% approval rate and 43-week median a year ago.

BSR is also beefing up resources to cope with the growing pipeline. Its internal regulatory team has increased by 25 people in three months to 177, backed by 508 external technical specialists, with further recruitment planned over the next six to 12 months.

Acting chief executive Charlie Pugsley said the improved performance was being driven by the expanded technical workforce and closer collaboration with applicants.