Telford landscaping mastermind dies at 83
A landscape architect credited with shaping Telford as a much-admired "town of trees" has died at the age of 83.
David Wassell was the chief landscape architect throughout almost the entire life of Telford Development Corporation, the body charged by the government with developing the new town. Under his leadership planting reached staggering totals, with one estimate being that seven million trees were planted and over six million shrubs.
He was the man responsible on the ground for Telford winning a string of "towns of flowers" awards.
He joined TDC in September 1969 and his wide-ranging brief included work related to all the new extensive road and building projects, and all the open space areas, including the town park, along with care of existing woodland.
Mr Wassell was the visionary and guiding hand behind various showpiece projects, such as the Chelsea Gardens. He administered the commissioning of the iconic Thomas Telford statue in the town centre and took the key decision to locate it in the Civic Square.
In 1991 – the year in which the corporation was wound down – he was presented with an MBE at Buckingham Palace by the Queen for his work with the corporation.
Telford won a Gold award in 1988 in the Heart of England in Bloom competition. The following year saw the town become outright winner of Britain in Bloom. And then in 1990 Telford won Entente Florale, the "European Cup" of towns of flowers.
After his TDC days he became a sought-after expert whose input continued to shape the environment in various towns. He had extensive experience in landscaping public spaces and worked with the Royal Parks in St James' Park, and various local authority parks departments.
The funeral service was being held at Telford Crematorium at 2.30pm on Thursday, May 9.
The significance of the work of Mr Wassell and his team in boosting Telford's image was underlined by the corporation's former chairman, the late Lord Northfield.
On his retirement in the 1980s he wrote: "The early years were difficult because the sheer physical task of transforming the services and the landscape was daunting, and no early breakthrough to prosperity could be seen.
"The breakthrough – the change of image – surely came in the period around 1982. The years of landscaping by the best team in Britain really hit us and the environment changed dramatically to a green and open place which people were proud of and were anxious to preserve."
Mr Wassell, who lived in Telford, set up a family-run business called Garden Square Limited, a professional landscape and grounds maintenance service.
Being an artist, he often worked closely with sculptors to provide visually stimulating landscapes and water features.
He acted as a judge in the Heart of England in Bloom competition and was a winner of a coveted Gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
