HOPES of tackling the chronic shortage of NHS dentists in North Yorkshire have been dashed after ministers announced that a much-needed new dental school would be founded in the south-west of England.

The Government has revealed the 62-place school will be based in Devon and Cornwall with a further 32 training places in Lancashire and Cumbria. Six places will also be awarded to the University of Leeds to establish an outreach centre in Hull.

The successful bids were chosen for their "innovative approach" to dental training, with most places being offered for students who will receive the majority of their clinical teaching in the community, and who already hold a degree or are mature students with a healthcare background.

The universities of York and Hull had proposed to set up a new training centre on the same lines as the Hull York Medical School in a bid to expand the numbers of dentists in the region, with the hope that many would stay.

A University of York spokesman expressed disappointment at the decision.

"The dental school we were proposing, in partnership with the University of Hull, was radically different from the traditional model.

"It would have been established along the lines of the successful Hull York Medical School and its training was to have been essentially community-based and patient-centred."

Updated: 09:53 Friday, January 27, 2006