Funeral takes place today of Green DIY's Ted Lansdowne

The funeral is due to take place today of Ted Lansdowne, joint managing director of Green DIY on the Bellbrook Business Park, Uckfield.

The store is due to close for the day as a mark of respect so that staff are able to attend the service at St Mary’s Church in Sevenoaks.

Mr Lansdowne (67), who lived at Broad Oak, set up Green DIY with his long time colleague Doug Spickernell 19 years ago.

Before that they worked in the corporate world for 25 years. They were directors of Payless DIY which had about 120 stores nationwide and was the third biggest DIY superstore in the country.

Payless was subsequently taken over by Boots and Mr Lansdowne and Mr Spickernell lost their jobs.

They decided to set up their own independent DIY store with the emphasis on customer service and a green policy, selling as much as they could without packaging and re-using carrier bags brought in by customers.

To this day customers can go into Green DIY and buy as many nails or screws as they need rather than having to buy in packs of, say, six.

The two men had a list of 30 towns which were the right size for the business they envisaged and Uckfield was the first place they visited.

The building on the Bellbrook Business Park was ideal for their needs and the company has flourished since opening in 1991.

The store employs more than 20 people and is open seven days a week selling everything from one nail to a bag of concrete and plumbing and electrical hardware and timber.

Mr Spickernell said Mr Lansdowne was very well known both in the DIY world and in Uckfield because he worked in the store and was a long-standing member of the Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Spickernell said: “His knowledge and expertise will be sorely missed.”

Mr Lansdowne leaves his wife Deena, a son from his first marriage and three grandchildren from Deena’s side of the family.

The funeral is being held in Sevenoaks because that is where Mr Lansdowne originally lived. He moved to Broad Oak about five years ago.