West Sussex · TR19 inspections and grease testing
Hickstead TR19 inspection
TR19 inspections, grease thickness testing, pre-clean surveys and post-clean verification for commercial sites in Hickstead and across West Sussex. BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease.
- An insurer’s request for a TR19 audit
- Sections of duct that cannot be reached
- Extracts that have never been grease tested
How we handle TR19 inspection in Hickstead
Many insurers ask for proof that kitchen extract systems are cleaned and inspected to TR19®. Without it, a claim can be refused or reduced. Our TR19 audits give sites in Hickstead and across West Sussex a clear record of the system’s condition. Typical jobs include cleaning intervals that may not suit the kitchen and checking the result of a recent clean, across access surveys, pre-clean surveys and wet film thickness tests.
For a kitchen in or near Hickstead, the visit is planned around opening hours and the journey, and the clean itself is the same full TR19® job as in any town: canopy, filters, duct, fan and discharge, with a certificate and photo report at the end.
We’re CHAS and SafeContractor accredited, we hold ISO 9001 and we’re fully insured. We are also a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, trading since 2009.
- Location
- Hickstead (RH17, BN6)
- Wider area
- West Sussex
- Paperwork
- TR19® certificate and photo report
- Quotes
- Fixed quote, usually within a working day
- When we work
- After hours by arrangement; emergencies any time
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Last updated
- 30 October 2026
Managing agents and facilities teams in Hickstead
The Fire Safety Order 2005 puts the duty to manage fire risk on the responsible person, which may be the employer, owner, landlord, FM or managing agent. Where responsibility is shared, records matter even more.
If you look after several sites, we can plan visits across the whole estate and price them together. Each site gets its own report and photos, so records stay tidy.
How the job changes from site to site
Extract fan and discharge
Grease builds up on the fan blades and inside the housing. They’re included in the readings and pictures.
Canopy and plenum
The plenum behind the filters can carry a lot of grease. Readings and photos are taken in the plenum on every inspection.
TR19 inspection around Hickstead
Food Standards Agency records include about 5 bars, pubs and nightclubs within 1.5 miles or so of the middle of Hickstead. Wherever they cook, the canopy, duct and fan collect grease just as a restaurant’s do. Food hygiene inspections in Hickstead are the job of Mid Sussex council’s environmental health team. They look at how clean the premises and equipment are, and the kitchen extract is part of that. Keeping each certificate and photo report on file helps show the extract is looked after. West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service covers Hickstead. Fire and rescue authorities enforce the Fire Safety Order in most non-domestic premises, and in a kitchen that fire risk includes the grease in the extract.
Church and community hall kitchens, near The Parish Church of St Peter or anywhere around Hickstead, are easy to forget, but their extracts collect grease like any other. A hospital like The Dene Hospital, about 1.3 miles east, is the kind of site where a kitchen may cook for patients, staff and visitors all day.
Hickstead is about 3 miles west of Burgess Hill, in West Sussex. Hickstead gets the same approach as every site we work on: diagnosis first, a fixed price, out-of-hours working where necessary and a written report with pictures. Hickstead is one of 371 places in West Sussex we cover for TR19 inspection. We also work in Brighton, about 10 miles from Hickstead.
We work across RH17 and BN6 for TR19 inspection and the roads nearby. If your site is just outside Hickstead, we cover Goddards Green (1 mile east), Sayers Common (1 mile south), Abbotsford (2 miles east), Ansty (2 miles north-east) and Hurstpierpoint (2 miles south). Larger places within reach include Crawley (10 miles north), Horsham (9 miles north-west), Worthing (13 miles south-west), Haywards Heath (5 miles north-east), Burgess Hill (3 miles east) and East Grinstead (14 miles north-east).
What’s near Hickstead
Locally, jobs take us to businesses close to St Paul's Catholic College. Hickstead’s nearest station is Burgess Hill station, about 3.1 miles east. Well-known places in the area include The Dene Hospital (1.3 miles east) and Clayton Castle (4.6 miles south-east). Open spaces near Hickstead include Wolstonbury Hill and Bedelands Farm Nature Reserve.
What staff can safely do
Staff cleaning and specialist work are not the same thing. Wiping filters daily and washing them weekly keeps the visible parts in order, but grease that has passed the filters is out of reach. That part needs specialist access and equipment.
If your staff spot something between visits, such as dripping grease, a noisy fan, a smell or a filter that will not come clean, it’s best reported rather than tackled in-house. We can diagnose it and quote.
Hickstead: your questions answered
Will you come out to Hickstead?
Yes. Hickstead is within the area we cover across London and the South East. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when you book.
Which council inspects kitchens in Hickstead?
The local authority for Hickstead is Mid Sussex council, and its environmental health team does the inspecting. How often a business is inspected depends on the risk rating the council gives it, so it’s worth staying ready all year.
How much time does an inspection need?
Typically, the inspection takes around an hour or two per canopy and duct system. System size and access decide the rest.
What accreditations do you have?
We hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, alongside BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite membership, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. Vent Hygiene Elite is run by BESCA and independently audited.
What is TR19?
TR19® is BESA’s specification for ventilation hygiene. TR19® Grease, a standalone specification since 2019, covers grease in kitchen extract systems, while TR19® Air covers other supply and extract ductwork.
What grease levels does TR19 allow?
Under TR19® Grease, the mean thickness should not exceed 200 microns between cleans. Any reading of 500 microns or more needs immediate spot cleaning.
Can we book visits on a schedule?
Yes. Send details of the systems and how they’re used and we will propose a schedule with a fixed quote.
Do you have a 24/7 line?
Yes, 24/7. Our office is open from 8am to 6pm on weekdays, and the emergency line covers the rest.
Places near Hickstead
What else we do in Hickstead
What happens on the day
Before we leave, we walk the area with whoever is on site. Anything we couldn’t reach or that needs attention is pointed out there and then, and it goes on the report too. All told, the work takes an hour or two for a single kitchen, longer for a large or complex system. The timing of a visit to Hickstead is set by you, and the travel is our side of the planning.
- Post-clean verification is booked once the clean is done.
- We open the access points used on the clean.
- Grease readings are taken again at set points.
- Photos are taken to show the condition after the clean.
- The results are reported, with anything missed flagged.
Before we arrive
- Make sure someone can let us in and lock up afterwards
- Plan for cooking equipment or plant to be off before we arrive
- Find the previous report, if there is one
Get a fixed quote
Every quote begins with a look at the system, from your photos and details or, where that isn’t enough, a survey on site. Then we send a fixed price, before we start.
Advice
What a clean will not put right
Not every problem is solved by TR19 inspection, and we’d rather say so up front. It won’t put right:
- Removing the grease, which is a separate clean
- The legal duty, which stays with the responsible person
- Hidden runs that need access panels first
If you’re not sure, just ring 0345 646 2711, or email photos and we will give you a straight answer before you book.
Where we work
- Pre-clean surveys
- Post-clean checks
- Deposit thickness tests
- Access surveys
- Wet film thickness tests
- Insurer audits
What affects the quote in Hickstead
Some jobs are bigger than they look, and some smaller. The main factors:
- The number of sites or systems
- Where the site is and how we reach it
- The size of the system
- The condition we find in the survey
We do not list prices on the website, because the cost depends on the site in front of us. Call for a fixed quote, and we’ll talk you through it.
Helping us quote
Photos and a few facts are often enough to price the work. Send what you can of the following:
- The paperwork from the last visit, if you have it
- Detail shots of panels, filters and grilles
- Problems your staff have spotted
- How we’d reach plant on a roof or in a plant room
We do not publish a price list, because no two systems are the same. We look at your system first, from pictures or on a visit, and then send you a fixed quote. To get going, call 0345 646 2711, or send details by email.
When to call us in Hickstead
Grease is fuel. A flare-up on the range can be drawn into the canopy and duct, and from there a fire can spread through the ductwork. Measuring it is the first step to keeping it under control.
Keep an eye out for any of the following:
- Kitchens taken over with no cleaning records
- An insurer’s request for a TR19 audit
- Confirming a clean reached the whole system
- Systems cleaned on a calendar with no measurements
If your kitchen is in a listed or historic building, like the houses around Hickstead (Ockenden Manor is about 3.4 miles north-east), fitting access panels needs care.
Before you book anyone
- If the quote is a fixed price or an estimate
- How they set the interval to the next visit
- Proof of accreditation you can verify
- What hours they’ll be on site