BETTER roads to attract new businesses could salvage the outlook for Worcestershire's construction industry currently at an 18-month low.

The latest quarterly survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said confidence had plummeted in the region and new business had slowed.

Just a quarter of chartered surveyors working in construction expected more work in the coming year.

Skills shortages which had eased between April and July were up again in the three months to September.

"The longer-term outlook is consistent with an economic slowdown," the report said.

"With a balance of only 26 per cent of chartered surveyors working in construction expecting higher workloads over the coming year, it's the weakest figure in six quarters."

The survey showed confidence in future workloads had edged back between July and September after remaining strong for much of the year.

Workloads had increased at a slower rate than between April and June - just 13 per cent of chartered surveyors had reported rising work compared with 22 per cent the previous period.

But despite the gloom, activity was "markedly greater" than for the same period in 1999.

Experts called for road improvements to bolster the declining industrial sector and reverse the industry's fortunes.

"The regional picture shows growth in workload activity in the Midlands has moderated," said Neil Poutney, regional construction industry spokesman for the RICS.

"Reticence about the future is understandable."

He said the number of commissions for smaller projects had fallen, which could not be offset by massive inner city developments like Birmingham's Bull Ring.

And he revealed the retail sector had also seen a drop in rentals. Both office and industrial sectors were also suffering.

"Nevertheless, the region is now reaching a critical mass of public and private sector investment which will attract others to the benefits we have in the area," Mr Poutney added.

"The challenge now is to return the industrial sector to health and prosperity and to improve the transport infrastructure so that the other work will follow."