A warning has been issued that Norfolk County Council could face added costs of between £9m to £30m over 10 years if controversial plans to house asylum seekers at a military base go ahead.
Officers at County Hall say Home Office proposals to house 1,250 migrants at RAF Barnham while asylum claims are processed, have the potential to heap pressure on services provided by Norfolk County Council.
Even though the base is over the county's border in Suffolk, a report drawn up by officials, after a request by Reform leaders at the authority, detailed how the men awaiting asylum decisions are likely to head to Thetford to access local services.
Officers said that would increase pressure on those provided by Norfolk County Council, such as social care, libraries and adult learning.
The report said some of those who do end up being granted asylum are likely to settle in the surrounding area.
That, the report said, would see them head for urban areas such as Thetford and other towns in Norfolk, which officials report would add further pressure on services which would have to support them.
The council document also said there would be extra pressure on blue light services, including Norfolk's fire service, if there are more protests and disorder - as seen in Thetford earlier this year when it emerged asylum seekers were being housed in the town.
And the report said Thetford fire crews would have to respond to any emergency at RAF Barnham itself.
The report acknowledged that, in the absence of detail from the Home Office - which has yet to lodge a planning application - officers had to rely on assumptions, rather than an evidence-based assessment of the potential impact on the council.
But officers said the financial impact, because of extra pressure on services, could range from £9.1m to £29.8m over a decade - the minimum time period the Home Office has said the base would be used by if the proposals do go ahead.
The report was discussed by the council's Reform-led cabinet at a meeting on Monday (October 5).
Scott Hussey, cabinet member for adult social care, said he felt the cost to the council could be even higher, while the council would not receive any government grants to assist because the base is in Suffolk.
He said: "I think it is very clear that we will face financial implications for Norfolk County Council and very severe added pressures on our frontline services, which, in my view, will put pressure on council tax at a time when budgets are already under intense strain."
Mr Hussey said he believed many of the asylum claims were "fraudulent" and were motivated by economic reasons, rather than fleeing persecution or conflict.
He added: "I think there is a great deal of concern in the town of Thetford and in Barnham and I think the concerns are very well justified."
Council leader Mr Bick, who represents Thetford West, said he had heard anecdotal evidence that parents in the town were buying rape alarms for their daughters.
But after the meeting, Liberal Democrat Liz Withington, criticised the comments, saying they had gone "far beyond the evidence presented in the report".
The council had previously agreed to oppose the proposals.
At the cabinet meeting, Reform councillors agreed the authority's leader Mr Bick would send a letter, along with the officers' report, and that it should be sent to home secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Robin Hunter-Clarke, the council's deputy leader, said: "This will be really useful in building the case to fight this proposal."
Colin Sutton, Reform's police and crime commissioner, who was at the meeting, has added his name to that letter.
Mr Sutton said Norfolk police use the base to train officers to deal with public order incidents and is having to look for alternative locations for that training.
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