So many people have mentioned to me disappointment that the splash pad at Testwood wasn’t open for the summer holidays this year, that I thought I would enquire why and publish an account of what went wrong.

I asked the question at the last full meeting of Totton & Eling Town Council so that all Councillors could hear the answer.

It turns out that there are very few contractors that undertake this type of work. The procurement process started in January and a contractor appointed soon afterwards.

They weren’t apparently able to undertake the work for some period of time and when they did, they encountered unexpected issues with the surface of the splash pad that they covered with a special material that can expand and contract.

Almost certainly due to the very hot and dry summer, some large cracks appeared. It was thought that the new surface covering would cope and they filled it with water just before the school holidays had got going, only for it to last two days and the water drained away.

As a consequence, the contractors had to be booked in again to rectify the issue, but sadly the work wasn’t completed until the last week of the school holidays.

Water facilities like this often provide a challenge. Things sometimes break down and there have also been issue with vandalism in the past. All told, it isn’t surprising that some Council’s decide not to invest in the facilities at all.

On the positive side, there were two other splash facilities, at Eling Recreation ground and Hanger Farm that were much enjoyed by kids and appreciated by the adults as a “free to use” facility.