Best Value Performance Indicator 199

Quick Links:

• Overview
• Preparation
• The Ten Land Uses
• What is a Transect?
• The Survey
• BVPI 199 Litter and Detritus Grading
• Results

Overview

The Government, through its Cross-cutting Review on Improving Public Space, has identified local environmental quality as one of the chief concerns of local communities. This is supported by research undertaken by the Local Government Association, who concluded that cleaner and safer streets are issues that are of concern to almost everyone.

Until the introduction of this BVPI, there was not a robust, reliable indicator covering environmental cleanliness. The Government's cross cutting review proposed that a new Best Value Performance Indicator (BVPI) should be adopted to report on the cleanliness of the streets and local environment in local authorities.

The survey that forms the background to the cleanliness BVPI has been developed to measure the cleanliness of the local environment, as a member of the public would perceive it.

The survey is based on the methodology of the Local Environmental Quality Survey (LEQS) developed by ENCAMS (Environmental Campaigns), for monitoring a range of local environmental quality issues. The results will be comparable with the overall national returns delivered to the Government every year.

The data from the cleanliness BVPI surveys will provide SABC with valuable information on the extent of litter and detritus (dust, mud, soil, grit, gravel stones, rotted leaf and vegetable structure) and therefore the success of our cleansing regimes, over a variety of different land uses in our authority.

Authorities will be able to compare overall local standards with national benchmarks, and to use the detailed BVPI information for internal management purposes.

Preparation

There are three BVPI 199 surveys each year. SABC began surveying in 2003, in accordance with the new requirements. Before surveying began a large amount of preparation work was needed. Every public space within the borough needed to be classified according to one of the following land uses:

The Ten Land Uses

• Primary Retail and Commercial Areas
• Secondary Retail and Commercial Areas
• High Density Housing Areas
• Low Density Social Housing Areas
• Low Density Private Housing Areas
• Industry/Warehousing/Retail sheds/Science Parks
• Main Roads
• Rural Roads
• Other Highways
• Recreation Areas

The BVPI requires 5 wards to be surveyed in each period, and a total of 300 transects must be surveyed within these 5 wards, spread equally (wherever possible) amongst the 10 land uses.

The wards in the borough needed to be put in an order to be surveyed. This order was determined using the Index of Multiple Deprivation, a national system used to rank areas in terms of income; employment; health and disability; education, skills and training; housing; and geographical access to services. For more information about the Index of Multiple Deprivation visit the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister website. Please note that the order the wards are surveyed in does not directly reflect the ranking of the Index of Multiple Deprivation. For more information about how the wards are ordered visit the BVPI website.

What is a Transect?

A transect is the name given to a specific area sampled as part of the BVPI survey. Generally a transect is 50 metres long, covering the whole width of the highway or footpath. If the transect is on an open space then 2 metres width either side of the 50 metre length is included. For more information about transects please visit the BVPI website.

Although this preparation was lengthy, and 300 transects surveyed 3 times a year sounds a lot, it ensures that as much of the borough as possible is surveyed on a regular basis, providing as honest a report on cleanliness as possible.

The Survey

So now for each survey there will be a list of 300 transects. Each of these transects must be inspected and graded for litter and detritus, and given a grade. The grading used is as follows:

BVPI 199 Litter Grading

Grade A:  no litter or refuse

Grade B:  predominantly free of litter except for some small items

Grade C:  widespread distribution of litter, with minor accumulations

Grade D:  heavy litter, with significant accumulations

BVPI 199 Detritus Grading

Grade A:  no detritus present on the transect

Grade B:  predominantly free of detritus except for some small items

Grade C:  widespread distribution of detritus, with minor accumulations

Grade D:  heavy detritus, with significant accumulations

For more information about grading and illustrative examples visit the BVPI website.

Each transect is graded on site on a form like the one shown below before being entered onto a spreadsheet back in the Public Amenities section in the Guildhall.

Results

The results for each survey are then calculated in accordance with the BVPI 199 requirements, and a percentage is given. The national benchmark is 28%. Anything less than this is cleaner than the benchmark, and therefore any percentage greater represents a dirtier area than the benchmark. A table showing the results of SABC's surveys is shown below.

For any enquiries please contact the Public Amenities department by calling 01743 281000 or emailing general@shrewsbury.gov.uk. There is more detailed information about BVPI 199 at http://www.bvpi-leq.com/.