The clock is ticking for agreement to be given for dental training to take place at the proposed school, to be based at the University of East Anglia in a new School for Oral Health.

The government has signalled it will not make a decision on the centre until June, after it has conducted a spending review.

But the UEA needs to register courses, so they can be advertised to students, the month before.

County Hall leader Kay Mason Billig warned it would be a "devastating" blow if higher education regulator the Office for Students does not allocate training places quickly enough for courses to start in September next year.

Norfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Billig (Image: Denise Bradley)READ MORE: UEA dental school bid gets £1.5m boost from Norfolk councils

She said: "We have got the capital ready, but if we cannot have........

© Norwich Evening News