MULTI-million pound business developments in the North-East are attracting a flood of highly-skilled workers to the region, a recruitment specialist has said.

John Tempest, managing director of executive search company Tempest Search and Selection, said demand for construction management professionals has never been higher.

Mr Tempest, whose recruitment business is based in London, set up a regional office in Darlington a year ago.

He said: "The North-East is a hotbed for development right now. The recruitment business for construction professionals is very healthy as a consequence."

There are a number of major business developments under way in the region.

On Teesside, entrepreneur and former Newcastle United chairman Sir John Hall is funding a business park at his Wynyard estate, while a £500m development has begun to transform the Middlehaven area in Middlesbrough.

There are also multi-million pound developments in Darlington and Newcastle.

Mr Tempest, who is from the North-East and moved to London 17 years ago, said the business environment had changed a great deal since he left.

"We have certainly noticed how much competition there is from other recruitment agencies in the region, so we are not the only ones to spot the potential here," he said.

"These developments are attracting skilled workers to the area, not just construction workers but also staff to work on these developments long-term."

Two months ago, developers in Darlington announced a plan to build hundreds of homes and businesses at a site near Bank Top railway station.

The 75-acre site, which will be called Central Park and will be the first thing visitors will see when they get off the train, is due for completion by September 2006.

The biggest of the new mixed-use developments is Newcastle Great Park (NGP).

Between them, the Darlington scheme and NGP are expected to cost developers nearly £1bn, with NGP predicted to have cost £800m by the time of its completion.

Tempest Search and Selection employs seven staff at its offices in Covent Garden, in London, and in Skinnergate, in Darlington centre.

The business, which recruits construction management professionals across a variety of sectors in UK construction, recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.