Site Auditing
It is pointless auditing some sites to Green Flag Standard if the others remain unsung heroes. It is vital that there is an auditing system that can accommodate all sites and not just the good ones.
Ken McAnespie, Jan 2006
We have audited and benchmarked hundreds of sites since 1995, for approx. 40 councils.
The Green Flag Award is based on our auditing system
Our audits are PPG 17 compliant.
We can train you to do them yourselves and to save cost by sharing auditing with other councils
A typical park audit will provide the client with a 20 page report with recommendations for improvement..
The Audit
The audit procedure is based on a system that has been tried, tested and improved by KMC Consultancy over the past four years. It can be summarised as follows
Create a Hierarchy of Parks, Open Spaces, etc.Audit/Benchmark the quality of the sites within the Hierarchy, using a pre-determined checklist as an aide-memoir.
Accept that not all sites are able to achieve excellence, and that some are going to be of a higher standard than others.
Set targets for the quality of each of the categories in the Hierarchy
Compare the quality results from the audit with the set targets
Compare the amount being spent on each site with the quality provided
Combine the quality and the price to obtain the value of the site to the customers
Compare this to the target
Review, and make appropriate changes to quality and/or expenditure to ensure cost-effectiveness
Repeat - and analyse for trends
The factors that are assessed during an audit are those that are important to the customer/user and include:
PARKS AND OPEN SPACES
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Design
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Staffing
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Interpretation/Signage, etc
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Maintenance
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Facilities
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Health and Safety
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Accessibility
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Usability
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Usage
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On-site marketing
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Security
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The overall quality of the site
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After a period of time Councils using the Audit process will be able to show trends (and improvement) in line with the requirements of CPA and Best Value, and will be able to share like with like information - not only internally, but also with others who have used/are using the system.
The community can be involved in the process in a number of ways. Local people could be involved in the undertaking of the audits, or they could be asked for their views on the results of the audits through focus groups or Citizens' Panels.
