A councillor involved with the opening of a £6.9m care home has said she is "bitterly disappointed" the facility could be sold to a private company.
A question mark is hanging over the future of Lydia Eva Court in Gorleston, along with more than 30 other care homes and housing with care schemes, because of a major change in how care is provided in Norfolk.
The homes and schemes are currently run by NorseCare, a company which Norfolk County Council owns.
But with the contract coming to an end next year, leaders at Norfolk County Council have instructed officers to explore whether new companies would be interested in taking over the homes.
That could see some homes close and others sold off to private investors, with council leaders saying the move will bring investment and improve the quality of care.
NorseCare-run homes in Brundall, Watton and Terrington St John, near King's Lynn, have already shut, with the company saying they were no longer fit for purpose.
And critics fear the private sector will cherry-pick or asset-strip remaining properties and say the council should have invested in them before this point.
Colleen Walker, Labour county councillor for Great Yarmouth's Magdalen ward, was a member of the Norse board when the 88-bed Lydia Eva Court was opened in 2014.
At a recent meeting of the Conservative-controlled cabinet, Mrs Walker said she feared the home, which looks after people with dementia, could be sold to a private care provider.
She said: "This care home is state of the art and loved by all the residents who are living there.
"We would all be shocked and appalled if this proves to be true as from its planning stage to its opening I have been involved and proud to have opened it.
"To say I am bitterly disappointed is an understatement."
Alison Thomas, the council's cabinet member for adult social services, said no decision had been made yet about any of the residential care homes.
She said a process would be followed and any decisions on sites would be made by the council's cabinet at a future meeting.
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