Test Valley Borough Council will look into restoring the Town Mills table tennis table after it was removed during renovation work.

Cllr Christopher Ecclestone queried the removal during a meeting of Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) on April 7. It was located between the Town Mills and the Chantry Centre car park, but was removed during work on the riverside park and is yet to be reinstated.

Cllr Nick Adams-King, the planning portfolio holder for TVBC, said he would investigate.

The question was one of a number asked by Cllr Ecclestone during the meeting of the borough council on Wednesday, April 7. Councillors are allowed to ask questions of officers and portfolio holders by submitting questions in advance.

Firstly, Cllr Ecclestone asked questions regarding the style of the new riverside park, saying: “Can the portfolio holder for planning please point out which historical styles are being used on the fixtures and fittings; and which buildings in the conservation area that these articles match or are consistent with; and why the plans bear only a tenuous resemblance to what was built at the Town Mills Park?

In response, Cllr Adams-King said that the site could not be “characterised by one particular style”.

He said: “It could be described as contemporary as the site and its environs are not characterised by one particular style in architecture or otherwise. The contemporary furniture is designed to meet the needs of a diverse population, with the design of the benches responding to previous issues raised regarding metal seating in the town centre being too hot cold or wet.

“The design team worked with the design officer on the correct approach to the street furniture here. It is a simple, natural palette of materials and colours with an overall coherence within the design. They are of a simple and unobtrusive design, not detracting from heritage assets and a good quality contemporary design that does not draw the eye to one particular item.”

He added that changes from the plans were “technical” and made by Hampshire County Council during the project, and that planning permission was not required for much of the work.

In his supplementary questions, Cllr Ecclestone then asked about absences from the plans, including a fallen willow and the table tennis table.

He said: “The willow that had fallen down around two years ago has not been replaced yet it’s shown in the plans and it would be consistent with the climate emergency and good water management that we have it replaced. Is there any intention of doing that?

“The table tennis table that was there, and shown in the plans, was spirited away in the reorganisation of the park and has not reappeared. What is the plan with that?”

Cllr Nick Adams-King said that “Very many additional trees” had been planted during the project, and was “happy to write to Cllr Ecclestone” as he did not currently have an answer for either question.

“I’m very happy to look into that [the willow] and the fate of the ping pong table,” he said, “and the prospect of it being reinstated.”