MORE people are moving to the South West to find work that any other region in the UK according to figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which are based on registrations at GP practices.

The South West topped the polls with almost 34,000 newcomers moving into the region last year while London saw 116,000 people leave the capital due to the high cost of living and the desire by many to raise a family elsewhere.

The region's gain was about 1.8 times higher than in the East of England, which had the next largest increase with 19,000.

Sue Baker, project director of Beacon South West, which has been set up by the South West of England Regional Development Agency to recognise companies of enterprise excellence spearheading growth in the region, believes the standard of employers in the South West has a fundamental part to play in attracting newcomers.

"London has the largest outflow of people moving within Britain with people, who may have moved to the city for work, becoming increasingly disillusioned with the lifestyle offered by the capital," said Ms Baker.

"There is no longer such a noted disparity between the calibre of companies in London and the regions.

"We have a wide range of established, innovative and industry leading businesses in the South West which effectively compete with London firms. For example, there are 115 companies in the region with Beacon company status, which is only given to forward thinking businesses attaining great success.

"As such, workers are recognising the opportunities open to them with these ambitious companies and realising that they don't need to be in London to further their careers."

First published: October 24