THE KINGSLEY SMITH TRUSTEE COMPANY

Kingsley has been amazing throughout our garden house case. He is professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly sharp, making the whole process much smoother. And of course very happy ending! Highly recommended

I purchased a property 3 years ago with the intention of renovating it into a family home. It was in a state of severe disrepair but in my opinion not derelict and I believed at time of purchase that the material facts of the property demonstrated disrepair. This was the battle that I ended up facing into.
I realised through a fairly innocuous application that the LPA was indicating Abandonment, meaning the property had lost all rights from a planning perspective. The implications for me were huge and I wasn't willing to accept this.

I realised I needed professional support. I did extensive research into solicitors who could help; I spoke to several who basically said my case was hopeless. I also realised that many solicitors would only take on 'sure bets' to keep their success rate high. I eventually found Kingsley Smith Solicitors, having read many of their previous cases I could source in the public domain and I immediately felt that I had found the solicitors I needed for my problem.

Nicholas Kingsley-Smith prepared a robust application to the LPA. The LPA rejected it because in my opinion they had their own agenda and critically, they ignored or paid scant regard to some of the material facts in the application. This meant that I had to go to appeal, where again Nicholas prepared the paperwork.
Ultimately, the Planning Inspectorate Allowed the appeal and we won the case. Perhaps the most interesting thing was that in the Inspector's report he quoted or paraphrased many of the arguments that had been put forward. My understanding is that the bar for winning at appeal is set at the appellant's argument stands up 'on the balance of probabilities', I think anyone who were to read the judgement of the inspector would say that this bar was far exceeded and it was beyond doubt that the appeal was successful. I think there are also a number of subtle precedents this appeal has set regarding Abandonment and I feel proud that others can also benefit from this experience.

In the ways of working, I appreciated the robustness of the approach and to be honest the willingness to knock back some of my weaker arguments that wouldn't add value to the narrative; that is to say that although I am the fee payer I wasn't pandered to at the cost of the case. Also, considering the quality of the arguments presented, there was another reference case that Nicholas sourced and when I look at the way their argument was presented versus ours it was night and day.

I cannot recommend Kingsley Smith Solicitors highly enough.

Boundry disputes take a long time and can leave clients in a panic to switch solicitors.

In a rush to contact solicitors (and potential guidence) Elizabeth Kingsley went out of thier way to briefly hear about our boundry case.

She provided advice and explained why process' are long in general and that switching would cost more financially.

Elizabeth Kingsley was the only honest solicitor that reached out and advised us on the big problems that would happen if we switched lawyers (futher delays and futher financial spendings) whilst other lawfirms were fast to encourage switching and spending.

Her advise was taken and after many months later things were finally finished and completed and resolved :)

If I could, i would absolutely recomend KSLaw for any cases and have them as our solicitors (if you dont have a solicitor)

Nicholas Kingsley Smith
Vivienne Chandler ….My Story

At my wits end,following two failed applications trying to gain a certificate of lawfulness on my caravan ,including the imminent threat of eviction.
Added to which given very bad advice from a local planning consultant,I did a search and found KSLaw ,
HOW LUCKY WAS I !!!!
After speaking to Elizabeth Kingsley Smith,Nicholas called me .
I explained the very complex issues surrounding my case and at first he wasn’t optimistic,but one by one he broke down all of them ,he is a master at unraveling the nuts and bolts of any legal argument .
Put simply he is exceptionally knowledgeable in all aspects of planning law.
He responds promptly and is very consise and measured,always ahead of the game,steering you in the right direction,his experience is second to none .
Extremely lucky that he was on MY side !
I would not hesitate in giving the highest recommendation to Nicholas Kingsley Smith .
I will be putting the fear of god into the Council,when they realise he will be representing me in the next phase ,Planning !
One really good piece of advice ,when speaking directly to Nicholas
DO NOT interrupt him in mid flow !!!
I look forward to the next chapter …….

Disgusting experience. A complete and utter waste of money.

The entire setup feels designed to extract fees rather than deliver results. Every breath, every phone call, every sentence is chargeable — at eye-watering rates — with very little to show for it. Instead of focusing on winning or progressing the case, the solicitor spent more time arguing, deflecting responsibility, and making sure the blame was placed firmly on the client.

The attitude was rude, dismissive, and frankly unprofessional. Collaboration was non-existent. I introduced experienced planning consultants and architects to assist, and every single one independently reached the same conclusion: unhelpful, combative, and poor value.

What makes this worse is that the service appears to prey on clients who are already under pressure — turning stress into a revenue stream rather than offering genuine legal support.

I am genuinely disgusted at how much time and money was wasted. There is nothing of substance here that justified the fees charged. I would strongly warn anyone considering this firm to look elsewhere.