A SALMON ladder on the River Calder along with a centre of excellence for canoeing will be the unlikely finishing touches to East Lancashire's latest industrial park.

The former Padiham Power Station site is the unlikely setting for an environmental success story that also features a badger, foxes, deer, heron, kingfisher and peregrine falcon.

The £19 million Shuttleworth Mead Business Park on the outskirts of Padiham is being transformed into a hive of business and industry.

Around 70 per cent of the 73-acre site has either already been developed or is under construction. More than 230 people work at companies based at Shuttleworth Mead and by the time the development is complete, it will be home to up to 1,000 people.

And according to marketing officer Kary Spencer, such has been the demand for space that the site could have been filled three times over.

"We have been delighted with the response, " she said. "The biggest single factor attracting companies is the M65 motorway. It not only provides excellent communications, but it allows companies to recruit from a corridor of towns throughout East Lancashire."

Shuttleworth Mead is the latest in a succession of business success stories in that corner of East Lancashire that touches on Burnley, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley.

More than 1,000 jobs have been created at Altham's sprawling business parks over the past five years through companies such as Simon Jersey and Senator. While Time Computers at Simonstone may be going through tough trading conditions, it still remains one of the Ribble Valley's top employers.

The news that its purpose-built call centre - surplus to requirements after a series of redundancies - was being taken by the Government's Pensions Agency with the creation of 300 jobs was another boost to the local ecconomy.

Combine the three locations and you have what is one of the North West's fastest-growing industrial locations.

The first company to move onto Shuttleworth Mead was internet services provider Supanet. Wallpaper manufacturer Graham and Brown has opened a 146,000 major distribution centre and haulage contractors Fagan and Whalley will shortly be opening for business.

Direct Courier Servicesis relocating from Church and specialist road tanker designer and manufacturer Massey Tankers has transferred its 60-strong workforce from Clitheroe and has created an initial 20 additional jobs.

Massey managing director Keith Brown said the custom-built 38,5000 sq ft factory would provide staff with a better working environment.

"We have more floorspace and an ideal layout with improved equipment," he said. "The access to the building and the motorway network is much improved and we will be able to recruit skilled personnel from a wider catchment area.

"These factors will improve our manufacturing efficiency and ensure that we continue to offer a competitive, quality service."

Mr Brown conceded that grant aid through Burnley Borough Council's "Unlocking Investment Programme" had played a major factor in the company's relocation to Padiham.

"The financial support enabled us to choose a building and equipment that enables us to maintain our competitiveness," he added.

Grant aid has itself has had a major impact on the development of the site by Ribble Industrial Estates Limited and Burnley Borough Council. A total of £4.4 million of UK Government and European assistance has gone into the redevelopment of the old power station site which would have remained derelict without the cash injection.

Assistance is available to encourage companies to recruit and train staff from inner urban estates in Burnley and a bus service is being introduced to make the park more accessible for workers.

A custom-designed 107,000 sq ft warehouse, with 10 loading bays, is now on the market along with smaller units suitable for manufacturing and distribution.

A prestige office complex is also under construction close to the entrance of the business park. Among tenants already identified is Campus Ventures, a joint venture by universities throughout the North West to create a new generation of businesses based on technology and innova11tion.

A unique environmental feature will be the crowning glory of Shuttleworth Mead's green credentials.

After decades of pollution, salmon are starting to make a comeback on the River Calder that flows around the business park.

However, a man-made weir, built to divert water to the cooling towers of the old power station, is proving an obstacle too far for the fish in their mission to spawn in the upper reaches of the river.

The Environmental Agency is now finalising plans for a salmon ladder that allows the fish to climb the rise in three easy stages.

And for canoeists, the scheme will provide 'white water' conditions to create the North Wet's first purpose-designed slalom training facility. The British Canoe Union is leasing a stretch of riverside on a peppercorn rent that will create a customised facilitity which will create an unrivalled sporting and leisure complex.