A REPORT out today says the North-west will be the UK's slowest-growing region by the turn of the century.

Economic forecasters Business Strategies say growth is expected to slow sharply this year and next after a below-average performance in 1997.

The London company's Senior Economist, Melanie Lansbury, is predicting further falls in manufacturing output this year combined with a service industry slowdown.

She said: "The long-term prospects for the region are not bright.

"The North-west suffers not only from an over-concentration of traditional manufacturing industries, but also a static population and a concentration of older urban areas with too few greenfield sites and poor transport links."

The report shows that the regional economy grew by only two per cent last year compared with 3.2 per cent for the UK as a whole.

This year, growth of 1.7 per cent is forecast compared with two per cent nationally.

Growth next year is likely to be 0.7 per cent compared with 1.7 for the UK as a whole.

Miss Lansbury said: "Weak output growth in the North-west is largely a reflection of the performance of the region's manufacturing industry.

"Growth in most other sectors has also lagged behind the UK average - the one exception is distribution, hotels and catering."

She said the textile and clothing industry is continuing to suffer from intense international competition.

Engineering achieved slight growth last year, but is expected to decline into the next century.

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