TWO new bail hostels are set to be opened in Southend, but neighbours will not be consulted beforehand.

The Ministry of Justice has asked Rayleigh-based private company ClearSprings to find two three-bedroom houses in the Southend area, which can be used by defendants awaiting trial or offenders released on probation.

But because the accommodation would be treated as a privately rented, multiple occupancy buildings, the company is not under obligation to consult neighbouring residents about the plans.

The buildings will not be hostels, which have security measures and are staffed by guards, and will not hold anyone who is deemed a risk to the public, or has been accused of sexual offences or arson.

Cihan Altan, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice, said most of the people living in the accommodation would be on bail and innocent until proven guilty.

She said: “ClearSprings provides private rental homes in the same way as any other landlord. They are not hostels. The service supports the efficient use of public resources by saving prison places and costs of court escorts and of visits to prisons.

“Judges and magistrates have consistently asked that we provide more bail accommodation because there are numbers of defendants without anywhere to live, whom the courts consider can be bailed if such accommodation, with necessary support, is made available.”

People living in the town are angry that they would not be consulted over the plans.

Kevin McBreatre, of Woodside Avenue, said: “I will not be happy at all with them moving next door. It would cause trouble in the local community.

“If people need to be segregated in the first place, they should be in prison.”

Antony Francis, 24, of Park Road, Southend, said he thought crime was on the up in Southend. He said: “Crime in Southend is at an all time high. We definitely have the right to know if people on bail are moving in next door. Not consulting residents is wrong.”

The news was revealed after Castle Point MP Bob Spink asked the justice secretary in Parliament if he was making it his policy for local residents to be consulted before a bail hostel opened in their area.

He also asked how many hostels were already operating in Essex.

There is no ClearSprings accommodation in Essex at the moment, but the company is seeking to set up hostels in or near, Southend, Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester and Harlow.