Marston Green group says "unfounded rumours" have frightened residents

FALSE rumours that a bail hostel could open in Marston Green have caused “great distress”, an action group has said.

Yesterday we reported how Bickenhill Parish Council had poured cold water on stories that the Ye Olde Wine Lodge, in Elmdon Road, was going to be turned into a home to house offenders.

The whispers started in the village after an application was lodged to turn the premises into a 12 bedroom dwelling – with word spreading quickly that the change of use paved the way for a bail hostel.

In just over a week, almost 200 residents had bombarded Solihull Council’s website with comments.

Now Marston Green Optimising Our Development (MGOOD) has blamed an unsigned letter, circulated among residents, for fuelling the fears.

A spokeswoman said: “The letter, along with all the unfounded rumours, is causing great worry and distress to many people, not least the elderly who live in the vicinity. 

“As we know from past experience, rumours can be very damaging and go round like wildfire, speculation then becoming fact.”

The panic meant that many read the application online and took references to the “HMO” to mean Her Majesty’s Offenders, when in actual fact it stands for House of Multiple Occupancy.

MGOOD has advised that people who object to the application should do so on planning grounds such as overdevelopment or an increase in traffic.