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Key Takeaways
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The golden thread is a legal duty under the Building Safety Act 2022 for higher-risk buildings in England. It must be kept digitally and kept current.
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Gateway 2 delays have often come down to weak or missing information, not bad design.
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A common data environment (CDE) alone doesn't give you a golden thread. You also need clear version control, decision records and links between documents.
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The best time to set up your information structure is at the start of a project, not the week before a submission.
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Good daily habits around email, drawings, RFIs and approvals build the golden thread for you as you work.
Most people talk about the golden thread as if it’s a single thing you hand over at the end of a project. It isn’t. It’s the sum of thousands of small records: an email that confirms a fire strategy change, a superseded drawing, a product substitution signed off on site.
If those records are scattered across inboxes, shared drives and personal folders, you don’t have a golden thread. You have a search problem.
That’s why the golden thread really starts with how your team manages project information every day.
What is the golden thread?
The golden thread is the information that lets someone understand a building and keep it safe. The Building Safety Act 2022 makes it a legal requirement for higher-risk buildings in England. These are buildings at least 18 metres tall or with at least seven storeys, with two or more residential units, plus hospitals and care homes during design and construction.
The information must be kept digitally. It has to be accurate, up to date, secure and easy for the right people to access. It also needs to show who made each decision and why.
Duties fall on the client, the principal designer and the principal contractor. So if you’re an architect or engineer on a higher-risk building, you have a direct role in creating and keeping this information.
Why information management is where most teams struggle
The gateway regime has been live since October 2023. Gateway 2 approval is needed before building work can start. Gateway 3 is needed before people can move in.
In 2025, Gateway 2 decisions for some remediation works took around 33 weeks against a 12-week target. Some projects in England slipped 12 to 18 months, according to Browne Jacobson. Things are improving in 2026, with the Building Safety Regulator making a record number of Gateway 2 decisions in a single 12-week period.
Regulator capacity was part of the problem. A big part, though, was the quality of what applicants sent in. Teams struggled to show how their design met the rules, and they struggled to prove it with a clear trail of evidence.
Here’s what that often looks like in practice:
- A drawing is revised, but nobody can say for sure which version the fire engineer reviewed.
- A key design decision was agreed in an email thread that only one person can find.
- A product change was approved, but the approval isn’t linked to the specification or the certificate.
- Two consultants hold different versions of the same document.
None of these are design failures. They’re information failures. They’re also exactly the gaps a regulator will ask about.
A CDE alone isn't a golden thread
Plenty of firms assume that because they use a common data environment, they’re covered. A CDE is a good start. It gives you one place to store files.
But storing a file isn’t the same as proving a decision. The regulator wants to see how a safety-critical change moved from idea, to review, to approval, to the final submission. That means you need:
- Clear revision status for every drawing and document
- A record of what was superseded and when
- Approvals linked to the people who gave them
- Supporting evidence, such as test certificates and calculations, linked to the right decision
- Correspondence filed against the project, not stuck in someone’s inbox
That last point matters more than most people think. A lot of project decisions still happen over email. If those emails aren’t filed and searchable, a big part of your golden thread is missing.
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1. Set up your information structure on day one
Agree how you'll name, file and track information before design starts. Decide who owns which records. Fixing this late in design, right before a Gateway 2 submission, is one of the most common and costly mistakes. -
2. File project email as part of the record
Treat email as project information, not personal mail. Filing emails against the project, with attachments, gives you a searchable record of who said what and when. It also means the record stays put when someone leaves the firm. -
3. Track every change with a clear trail
Every safety-critical change should show who asked for it, who reviewed it, who approved it and which documents it touched. RFIs, submittals and change requests should all feed into that trail. -
4. Make information easy to find
The golden thread must be accessible. If it takes your team an afternoon to find a fire strategy revision, a regulator will notice. Good search across files, email and project records saves time at every gateway. -
5. Plan for Gateway 3 now
Gateway 3 is a hard stop on occupation. Change control during construction and evidence for completion are the next big pressure points. If your records are tidy from the start, the handover to the building owner is far simpler.
Good habits do the heavy lifting
The best golden thread isn’t built by a heroic effort at the end. It’s built by small, consistent habits during the project. Filing an email. Logging an RFI. Recording an approval in the right place.
When those habits are easy, people follow them. When they’re a chore, people skip them, and the gaps show up at the worst possible moment.
That’s the case for better information management. It protects residents, it protects your firm, and it keeps your programme moving through the gateways.
How Newforma helps
Newforma project information management software is built for architects and engineers. It helps you file and find project email, control documents and drawings, and track RFIs, submittals and approvals in one place. That gives your team a clear, searchable record of decisions, which is the core of a reliable golden thread.
If you’d like to see how UK firms use Newforma to prepare for Gateway 2 and Gateway 3, book a demo with our UK team, or see Newforma Konekt in action.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the golden thread in the Building Safety Act?
The golden thread is the digital information needed to understand a higher-risk building and keep it safe across its life. The Building Safety Act 2022 makes it a legal duty in England. It covers design, construction and occupation, and it must be accurate, up to date, secure and accessible. -
Which buildings need a golden thread?
Higher-risk buildings in England need one. These are buildings at least 18 metres tall or with at least seven storeys that have two or more residential units. Hospitals and care homes that meet the height rules are also covered during design and construction. -
Who is responsible for the golden thread?
During design and construction, the client, principal designer and principal contractor all have information duties. Once the building is occupied, the accountable person takes over responsibility for keeping the information current. -
Why do Gateway 2 applications get delayed?
Many delays have come from applications that don't clearly show how the design meets building regulations. Missing evidence, unclear version control and weak decision records lead to questions from the Building Safety Regulator, which slows approval. -
Is a common data environment enough for the golden thread?
Not on its own. A CDE stores files, but the golden thread also needs version history, linked approvals, supporting evidence and project correspondence. You need to show how decisions were made, not just where files are kept. -
How can architects and engineers prepare for the golden thread?
Set up your information structure at the start of the project. File project email as part of the record. Track every change, RFI and approval with a clear trail. Make information easy to search. Start planning for Gateway 3 evidence early.