Southampton City Council has been attacked by a firm of international property experts over its blueprint document for future local developments.

The wide-ranging report, which does not mince its words, also warns that shops in the areas surrounding Southampton will be hit hard by the opening of the WestQuay complex, and that delays in constructing the controversial Dibden Terminal on Southamp-ton Water will just benefit European competitors.

In its wide-ranging review of the area's economy, the company, King Sturge, also highlights that it is the South's "20-somethings'' who are leading the way in buying up homes, in an explosion of developments changing the face of Southampton and the rest of the region. The economic snapshot is contained in the seventh review of the South Coast Metropole area, and comes from the company's Southampton-based partner, Michael Green.

Mr Green said: "The economy remains robust throughout the region with high levels of demand in all sectors over the first three-quarters of 2000. Some signs of cooling in the industrial and residential markets suggest we are now at the top of the current cycle, and that these markets became a little overheated in the first half of the year.''