Fermanagh and Omagh District Council plans to sell Mantlin Playing Fields in Kesh. Local residential care home manager David Maxwell stated the sale would harm society's most vulnerable residents. The fields see near-daily use by eight residents with learning disabilities from Praxis Care's Mantlin Cottage home next door.

Maxwell noted the fields provide a safe area for walks, playpark access, and outdoor gym use, five or six times weekly. He said one staff member supervises three or four residents there now. Alternative town walks would require one-to-one supervision due to traffic, especially in summer with added visitors from three caravan sites.

The care home received no notice or consultation from the council about the sale. Maxwell learned of it a month ago from a Mantlin Park resident. He added that no council contact occurred despite his regular presence at the site.

Glendurragh Childcare Services, adjoining the fields, also opposes the sale. Manager Caroline Sloan said the fields offer essential grass space lacking at their facility. Around 120 children use it daily in good weather for sports like rounders and tag, plus outdoor learning.

Sloan stated the childcare provider, a registered charity serving North Fermanagh, learned of the sale through media, not the council. She warned the loss would permanently affect children's outdoor play and development, with no nearby green alternatives.