British Property Federation calls for next months spending review to include additional resource for safety regulatoramid spate of high-rise delaysThe British Property Federation (BPF) has called for a new approach on resourcing at the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) after it emerged high-rise residential schemes were facing delays of up to two years.Rachel Reeves delivering a speech on stimulating economic growth last monthBuilding Designreported last week that delays in handling applications for so-called higher risk housing schemes taller than 18 metres were caused largely by an outsourcing model adopted by the BSR, which does not employ its own in-house technical staff.This is understood to be slowing down approvals needed for schemes to start construction due to a lack of spare capacity in the private sector and local authority building control, with BSR head of operations, planning and building control Andrew Moore admitting the approach isnt working as wed hoped.The BPF is now calling for chancellor Rachel Reeves to provide additional resource for the regulator at next months spending review to enable held up projects to move forward, warning the backlog of applications is running counter to the urgent need for new homes.> Also read:What the delays at the Building Safety Regulator mean for high-rise developmentIt said delays of between 18 and 24 months are saddling investors who no longer have an economic interest in a building with unnecessary legal commitments and is preventing new owners from taking full control of a building and making productive use of it.The body has calculated that legal teams are currently spending 12,000 working days each year chasing applications, while some schemes are being abandoned altogether.BPFchief executive Melanie Leech said the governments reforms to the planning system will not deliver homes, infrastructure and growth unless the regulatory and planning system is made more efficient and adequately resourced.She added: To unlock the billions of pounds of investment needed to build more homes, employment spaces, infrastructure and to support improvements in key public services such as the NHS, we need the Government to create a supportive fiscal and regulatory environment that will give the real estate sector the confidence to take long-term investment decisions.That requires a new smarter approach to regulation and ensuring that it is properly resourced.The BPF is also urging the government to fund more than 300 planning officers, the number which ministers had promised in last years autumn budget as part of a drive to speed up planning approvals.It is also calling for a 10-year rent settlement to support private investment in affordable residential schemes over the next five years, and for stamp duty relief for multiple dwellings to be reinstated.The Treasury has said the spring spending review will take place on 26 March.