Residents in Kesh have elected a new 16-member committee for the Kesh Development Association to oppose plans by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to sell Mantlin Playing Fields.

The decision followed an annual general meeting in the village community centre attended by more local people than expected. Outgoing chairman Billy Gilmore and treasurer Neville Armstrong led the meeting before stepping down.

The new committee members are David Seaney, Heather Cashel, Gary Wilson, Jordan Ellis, Willie Simpson, Mandy Noble, James Coulter, Mark McCutcheon, Derek Maxwell, George Irvine, Jill Parkinson, John Coyle, Geoffrey Knox, Una Atchison, Sharon Seaney and Maurice Neil.

Councillors David Mahon Jnr, John McClaughry and Rosemary Barton attended and offered assistance. Mahon stated that the fields should remain in council ownership and maintained for public use.

The new committee plans to send a letter to the council ahead of its meeting next week. Former councillor John Coyle called for the fields to be retained as the only green space in the village available for public use from playschools to homes.

Attendees expressed concerns that the site is currently used by childminders and local families for safe play and exercise. Some also raised issues around potential housing development and the sewage works near the site.