A guide to living in South West England

South West England is the largest of the country’s nine official regions. It stretches from the Isles of Scilly at the south-westerly tip of the UK up through Cornwall and Devon to Gloucestershire and Wilshire at its easterly border. The largest cities in the region include Bristol, Bournemouth and Exeter. The National Parks of Exmoor and Dartmoor sit within South West England, with other key visitor attractions being Cornwall, with its beautiful beaches and fishing villages, Stonehenge, and the historic city of Bath.

Excellent

66.2

Very Good

25.3

Average

6.5

Disappointing

0.9

Very poor

1.0

Best places to live in South West England

How is ranking calculated?

Viewing 1-5 out of 141

Rental Only

Award Winner 2025

Spring Wharf, BA2

By urbanbubble, Legal & General

Award winner 2025

4.64

(285 reviews)

£1,190-£1,800 pcm

1, 2 beds

Spring Wharf is a Build to Rent development, located in Bath. It offers a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments. The development is pet friendly and residents have access to a wide range of amenities, including a residents' deck with a BBQ area and a gym, as well as an on-site concierge team. The development is only a 6-minute walk away from Oldfield Park station. This has links to GWR and South Western Railway services.

1st

Ranked 1st out of 80 in South West England

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Development image of Box Makers Yard, BS2

Rental Only

Award Winner 2025

Box Makers Yard, BS2

By Legal & General, urbanbubble

Award winner 2025

4.63

(341 reviews)

£1,345-£2,700 pcm

Studios, 1, 2, 3 beds

Box Makers Yard is a rental only development, managed by Urbanbubble. It offers a range of 1, 2 and 3-bed apartments on offer with a variety of furnished and unfurnished options. These come with courtyard or city views, extra storage and private balconies or terraces. In addition, there are a range of flexible tenancy lengths up to 5 years. Additional facilities include a resident lounge with a games area, an air-conditioned gym with weekly fitness classes as well as a private rooftop dining suite with an outdoor terrace. Box Makers Yard is only a 12-minute walk away from the city centre and is only moments away from Temple Meads Station, Castle Park and Hannah Moore Primary School. Temple Gardens, Kings Street and the Harbourside are also within walking distance.

2nd

Ranked 2nd out of 80 in South West England

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Signal Box Yard, BA2

By Native Communities

4.39

(15 reviews)

Signal Box Yard sits in the heart of Bath, offering studio, 1, 2 and 3 bed apartments. Residents can enjoy on-site maintenance, ultra-fast broadband, landscaped courtyards and a residents' lounge. Additionally, residents benefit from a 2,000 sq ft resident-exclusive gym and studio.

3rd

Ranked 3rd out of 80 in South West England

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Development image of Millwrights Place, BS1

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Award Winner 2025

Millwrights Place, BS1

By Grainger

Award winner 2025

4.28

(38 reviews)

Our second development in Finzels Reach, in the heart of Bristol city centre. Beautifully designed light and contemporary apartments with incredible social spaces, gym, roof terrace with amazing views and we are pet friendly, what’s not to love! We have a selection of studio, 1 & 2 bedroom homes to rent with a variety of lay-out options.

4th

Ranked 4th out of 80 in South West England

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Simple Life at Strawberry Grange, TA6

By Simple Life Homes

4.07

(13 reviews)

Residents can benefit from a range of amenities and attractions, including some stunning woodland walks in the Quantock Forest Circular and Greet Wood via Ramcombe Picnic area. The development is located east of the town centre, where shoppers can enjoy a range of retail stores at the Angel Place Shopping centre, whilst foodies can indulge of a range of cafes, restaurants and bakeries.

5th

Ranked 5th out of 80 in South West England

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Page 1 of 29

Featured developments in South West England

Latest Reviews in South West England

2228 total reviews

Write a review

Viewing 1-5 out of 2228

John M (Tenant)

Verified Resident

The Gorge, EX1

Dec 2025

Reviewer was offered an incentive for an honest review, regardless of rating

This is rated 3.00 out of 5.00.

Not as good as it first appears

John M (Tenant)

Verified Resident

The Gorge, EX1

Dec 2025

The place looks good but there are a number of issues. The shared spaces, the kitchen and shared social / work spaces are good but are frequently cold and unfortunately it has been difficult to discuss with building management about how to improve this. Shared items like plates, cups etc are often taken by tenants leaving the kitchen under resourced. There are also theft issues in the shared fridge that are difficult to be addressed even if there is potentially CCTV of who is doing the theft. Facilities like netflix and other accounts for shared use on the TVs in the shared space and cinema room have been removed citing licencing issues and events seem to have less budget than in the past.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

It is a bit of a mixed bag really, public transport wise it is near a lot of major routes across Exeter and the wider region and it is a short walk from the city centre, There is a Waitrose across the road and Magdalen Rd a road of restaurants and shops is close by. There is an abandoned building next door which can be a magnet for trouble and the main road is quite close an choked with traffic a significant amount of the time.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Maintenance issues have been dealt with swiftly, and other things such as noise issues in my experience have also been dealt with, although I have heard from others with more serious issues that there can be problems if you don't have more than one tenant complaining.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The lack of temperature control in the shared spaces and that the shared laundry is quite small for the amount of tenants in the building

・・

Reviewer was offered an incentive for an honest review, regardless of rating

HomeViews

Jagadeep (Tenant)

Unverified

Spring Wharf, BA2

Dec 2025

Reviewer was offered an incentive for an honest review, regardless of rating

This is rated 5.00 out of 5.00.

Excellent Flat in Bath

Jagadeep (Tenant)

Unverified

Spring Wharf, BA2

Dec 2025

Spring Wharf in Bath has a really thoughtful overall design – the apartments feel modern and well laid out, with lots of natural light and good use of space. The communal areas, especially the riverside walkways and shared terraces, make the building feel more like a small community than just a block of flats. Facilities such as the gym, parcel lockers and bike storage are genuinely useful day-to-day and generally well maintained. Building management is usually responsive and friendly, and issues reported through the portal or email are acknowledged quickly, though occasional follow-up could be a bit more proactive. The property management team keeps shared spaces clean and secure, and communication about maintenance or inspections is clear and timely. Overall, Spring Wharf is a well-designed, comfortable place to live with facilities that match a modern lifestyle and management that, on the whole, does a good job of looking after residents and the building.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

I lived for 2 years and it's been the best in bath with excellent amenities, good community with wonderful events

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

They have been quick in sorting the issues and take utmost care of the tenants

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The commute and location is very efficient and it's the best property

・・

Reviewer was offered an incentive for an honest review, regardless of rating

HomeViews

Janet Lane (Owner)

Verified Resident

Crest Nicholson at Tadpole Garden Village, SN25

Dec 2025

This is rated 1.00 out of 5.00.

Lovely area. Very poor development management.

Janet Lane (Owner)

Verified Resident

Crest Nicholson at Tadpole Garden Village, SN25

Dec 2025

We moved onto TGV in December 2019 having bought a Bellway home. We have no complaints with our home or with Bellway as a building company. However, Crest Nicholson who are in over all control of the site as a whole have failed the residents of the village massively. The development was started around 2014 and as of today, 12 yrs later the roads and footpaths are not yet finished and if it wasn't for the villagers getting together and giving dozens of one star reviews on Trustpilot, we would very likeky not be seeing the flurry of work that is ongoing at the moment. Some works on roads and footpaths have been done and re done as the initial work was done to such a poor standard. There have been build problems, drainage problems, roads and footpaths left in dangerous conditions, play areas a danger to children and for a 'Garden Village the landscaping has been dreadful. The planning of the local shops was very poor as there is no where near enough parking and the parking area as a whole has been very badly designed. Avoid this building company at all costs.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

TGV is located in a lovely area just on the outskirts of Swindon, with open spaces, lakes and wildlife areas. The transport links are adequate but one part of the village has quite a walk to the bus stop. There are four local shops - Sainsbury's local, a charity shop, a coffee shop and two hairdressers. There is no takeaway of any kind which would be very welcome in the village but apparently, due to planning regs because of the flats above, a takeaway would not be allowed. Most houses have driveway parking but, although there are laybys for additional parking, it is still not suffucient. There has been some anti-social behaviour in the village but other areas are worse. Trafic noise is minimal.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

We wish we had realised how poor Crest Nicholson are at finishing off a development. We have driven over unfinished, uneven roads for many years now and the development is still not finished despite actual house building having been completed a long time ago. It's not always about your actual house builder but about the developer who runs the whole site collectively.

What is the best feature of your home:

Our home was built by Bellway Homes who are a five star builder and we have no complaints about them.

・・

HomeViews

Fahmi Alshahabi (Tenant)

Verified Resident

Box Makers Yard, BS2

Dec 2025

This is rated 5.00 out of 5.00.

Great place

Fahmi Alshahabi (Tenant)

Verified Resident

Box Makers Yard, BS2

Dec 2025

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Very clean and quite with great facilities the location is great gym has great equipment and continous improvements on the equipment

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Yes always fixed the issues as soon as possible Great communication no complaints

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Wish i moved in sooner rather than staying at the old place i was in

・・

HomeViews

Disappointed Resident (Tenant)

Verified Resident

Signal Box Yard, BA2

Dec 2025

This is rated 2.00 out of 5.00.

Young couples, stay away!

Disappointed Resident (Tenant)

Verified Resident

Signal Box Yard, BA2

Dec 2025

They allowed us all to move in without ensuring that the place was habitable. We’ve been without hot water for weeks, management have been nothing but rude and unhelpful and absolutely patronizing and threatening us when we have voiced our concerns. It’s a truly terrible situation we all find ourselves in with no way out of our contracts. It look stunning from the outside but it’s a black hole of problems on the inside. This is mine and my partners first place together and we were so excited to move in together and have only felt stress and anxiety since moving in as there have been so many issues. What strikes me the most is simply how rude the management is and how threatening and patronizing their approach to our problems have been with absolutely no intent of supporting us.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The area is lovely. It’s close to the train stations, gym, city center and lots of shops. Bar the buildings going up around and the noise coming from them from time to time it’s a great area.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

They have not responded. They have simply tried to keep us silent. It has been very disappointing and have withheld insurance and other documents from us stating we have no rights.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The management and facilities. I wish I knew the problems we were going to face and wish we had never moved here.

・・

HomeViews

Page 1 of 446

These reviews are the subjective opinion of a HomeViews user and not of HomeViews

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