Windmill Drive and Windmill Road concerned residents protest at Enniskillen Town Hall against the proposed community centre.
THE proposed new community centre on the Windmill Road remains a subject of contention as residents clash over the location of the building.
Permission has been granted by the Planning Service, and the council has agreed to the build – but it has received opposition from some residents in the area.
Recommended by Neighbourhood Renewal, this site was deemed the most appropriate.
Indeed, on Monday evening prior to the monthly meeting of Fermanagh District Council residents opposed to the building of the community centre in that location, staged a protest outside Enniskillen Townhall.
There is, however, strong support from other residents for the erection of the building.
Gerry Keys, chairman of the Windmill Road/Windmill Drive Concerned Residents Group, was among the protesters.
He told the Fermanagh Herald: “The community centre is being pushed upon us and we want to save our green for our children to play on, our grandchildren.
“There are 200 houses going up at Grosvenor Barracks – and we reckon if there’s one child in each house, that’s 200 extra children to play in that play area.
“If they do away with that lump of green then there’s only a wee small bit of green left – the whole play area was full over the summer.”
Also in attendance was the TUV’s Alex Elliott, who claimed that the community centre would attract anti-social behaviour.
“Young people automatically will use that as a drinking area, a drinking den and also for anti-social behaviour: drinking, drugs and everything else and that will lead ultimately to vandalism. There’s been no discussions with the individuals.
“They (Fermanagh District Council) need to sit down with the people and say what do you want, where do you want it and what are your objections.”
But, on the other side of the spectrum, Robert Newman, who is chairman of the West End Partnership, who currently operate with a small community centre on the Sligo Road, Enniskillen, said that there is large support for the new centre.
He said: “There’s an awful lot of support and they’re phoning me every day to ask how it’s getting on. It’s something we want to do for the west end of the town.
“There are a lot of old people who go to the West End centre and we just haven’t the space to accommodate them.”
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