Fermanagh and Omagh District Council plans to sell Mantlin Playing Fields in Kesh. David Maxwell, general manager of Praxis Care's Mantlin Cottage residential care home, objects to the plan. The fields border the home and receive near-daily use by eight residents with learning disabilities.

Maxwell states the fields offer a safe space for walks, playpark access, and outdoor gym equipment five or six times weekly. One staff member currently supervises three or four residents there. Town walks would demand one-to-one supervision due to traffic, particularly in summer when three caravan sites increase local population.

The care home received no council notice or consultation on the sale. Maxwell learned of the plan one month ago from a Mantlin Park resident. No council contact occurred despite his regular presence at the site Monday to Friday.

Glendurragh Childcare Services, which adjoins the fields, also objects. Manager Caroline Sloan states the fields supply essential grass space absent from their facility. About 120 children use it daily in suitable weather for sports and outdoor learning.

The childcare provider serves North Fermanagh as a registered charity. It learned of the sale through media reports, not the council. Sloan indicates no nearby green spaces exist within walking distance.