OUR TEAM

Paul Pleydell is the founder and director of Pleydell Smithyman. He is a specialist design and business consultant leading a multidisciiplinary team delivering strategic and design led business solutions to a range of sectors, including garden centres, rural businesses and commercial developments. His wider experience in consultancy has given him a broad skill base and the ability to lead teams of internal and external consultants delivering complex and diverse projects. Alongside his consultancy work he has been a visiting design tutor and professional practice lecturer at Birmingham City University, as well as speaking at various conferences in the UK, Europe, and the Far East.

Martin's architectural portfolio includes agricultural, industrial, and commercial facility design, such as asphalt plants, garden centres, laboratories, and renewable energy solutions. Martin integrates innovative design principles to support client net-zero goals, integrating elements like solar panels and EV charging infrastructure. His designs underscore a strong commitment to sustainability and innovation, ensuring each project meets environmental standards and client aspirations alike.

Anne serves as the Finance Administrator for our company. Along with maintaining the company's financial records, preparing management reports, monitoring spending and costs and ensuring financial compliance, Anne also assists with a host of administration tasks, involving IT, HR, ISO, and H&S etc. Her meticulous approach and dedication to maintaining orderly systems are integral to the smooth operation of Pleydell Smithyman.

Katie is our in-house graphic designer, responsible for developing 2D and 3D visualisations to support projects across a range of sectors. She offers graphic design services for councils and businesses, creating digital and printed artwork for public events, report layouts, and presentation documents. Katie demonstrates proficiency in designing infographics that enrich written content across various media and excels in corporate identity and brand design and development. Her creative solutions are honed to engage audiences effectively across all media, with an eye for detail and a deep understanding of branding and corporate ID principles. Katie's work involves delivering visually engaging materials to significantly enhance the presence and identity of businesses across diverse sectors.

Michael is a technical design consultant approaching nearly 20 years of experience. Michael's portifolio consists of wealth of various sectors, focusing mainly on residential and commercial projects. Michael takes a great pride in delivering a fusion of creative design, precision and expertise to his work.

Katie is a consultant interior designer with over 10 years of experience with retail and hospitality design. Her expertise allows her to gauge current trends in restaurant and cafe design to develop bespoke layouts that meet the client brief and create spaces that engage and delight customers. Katie's eye for detail, combined with her creativity brings even the most challenging projects to fruition.

As Associate Director, Kathryn brings strategic vision and leadership to our team. Kathryn has almost twenty years planning experience and an impressive track record of planning success on a diverse array of projects. Her expertise spans garden centres, farm shops and leisure attractions, showcasing her versatility and in-depth knowledge in specialist markets. Kathryn’s strategic approach, commercial mindset and meticulous attention to detail ensure that our planning projects are given the best chance of success.

Sally is an Associate Landscape Architect with over 30 years experience who brings a blend of creativity and technical expertise to every project. She has experience in working with multi disciplinary teams for both large and small projects. Sally is pragmatic, problem solving and innovative, providing sustainable and biodiverse solutions for a variety of outdoor spaces. Sally plays a crucial role in delivering cost effective, high quality and impactful projects that impart delight to clients and users alike.

Nikki is an Administration Assistant at our company. In this role, Nikki supports daily operations by managing schedules, handling correspondence, client invoicing and maintaining office records. Her methodical approach ensures efficient workflow and helps maintain a well-organised office environment. With a commitment to excellence, Nikki is a vital part of our administrative team, contributing to the smooth and effective functioning of our organisation.

Scott is a Technical Design Consultant with 25 years experience in Architecture and Design. Primarily focused on the Commercial and Industrial sectors his work encompasses translating client requirements into aesthetic, functional and efficient designs. His ability to balance creativity with technical precision ensures the harminisation of a client's vision with practical design solutions. Ensuring each project meets aesthetic appeal, technical specification and regulatory standards.

Roger is an invaluable member of the Pleydell Smithyman team. His expertise lie in architectural design and project management. Roger has successfully led many of our projects from design concept through to construction.

Andrew Burton is an Associate Director at Pleydell Smithyman. His experience has been gained over 30 years of retail and catering management, and he has been working with rural businesses since 2001. Andrew sits on the Farm Retail Association Council and is the visiting judge for their Farm Shop awards, and he previously sat on the Garden Centre Association Board for 8 years. Following a successful career starting in food retail, before running award winning garden centres for the Garden & Leisure Group, Andrew has been advising garden centres and farm shops since 2019 and has completed a number of successful projects throughout the UK. Andrew has a reputation of helping businesses to develop their visions and strategies, with a focus on operational aspects and commerciality.

Lucy is a Senior Consultant specialising in Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, developing restoration designs and strategies, large scale planting projects and restoration audits here at Pleydell Smithyman. In this role, Lucy is responsible for evaluating the visual and environmental impacts of proposed developments. A key aspect of her work involves creating detailed drawings and models to visualise and predict how these proposals are likely to affect the surrounding landscape. Her expertise ensures that projects are assessed comprehensively, with clear insights into potential visual impacts and effective mitigation strategies.

Anna is an Interior Designer with over 10 Years of experience in a variety of fields. With the ability to interpret the brief and create tailor made solutions for our Clients, she designs unique spaces that everyone can enjoy. Having a passion for graphic design, sketching and 3d modelling helps Anna to create unique packages that capture our Client’s imagination. Her knowledge, attention to detail and creative flair brings projects to life. Since starting at Pleydell Smithyman, Anna has developed a deep understanding of retail and hospitality design, creating layouts that allow our Clients' businesses to operate in the best way possible.

Chris is a technical design consultant bringing over 22 years experience to our team. He has worked within the education, healthcare, housing and commercial sectors. Chris has previously worked for a large shropshire house builder, as well as several architects gaining a wealth of experience.

Andrew has over 25 years commercial interior design experience working at Pleydell Smithyman within the Garden Centre sector. With a wealth of design based project management experience, Andrew is client facing, with a strategic and commercially focussed approach, leading and navigating projects from initial concept through to successful delivery and implementation on site.