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St Neots firm builds 'seaside town' at HQ to inspire staff

Pico Technology Pico Technology in St Neots.Pico Technology
The company has brought a piece of the Suffolk coast to Cambridgeshire, complete with suspended seagull

A factory in landlocked Cambridgeshire has been transformed to mimic a seaside town nearly 100 miles (161km) away.

Pico Technology in St Neots turned its canteen into a replica of an old pub in Southwold, Suffolk, and built beach huts and a pretend boat for meetings.

Facilities manager Ste Greenall said: "There were concerns that separating the company into two sites could damage the family feel that the business has."

He said the firm's "seaside" areas had encouraged its 100 or so staff to mix.

Pico Technology Pico Technology in St Neots.Pico Technology
The canteen has been modelled on an old Southwold pub, inside and out

The canteen is now called the Harbour Inn, an old pub in Southwold run by local brewery Adnams, and features former pub tables, a dartboard and optics of fruit cordial.

There are pretend beach huts for meetings and a replica boat for group discussions set in an area decorated with fishermen's nets and seagulls suspended from the roof.

Pico Technology Pico Technology in St Neots.Pico Technology
The replica pub features old pub tables, a dartboard and a pretend window with a view of Southwold

Pico Technology makes technology equipment including oscilloscopes.

Getty Images Southwold, Suffolk.Getty Images
The decorations were inspired by the Suffolk seaside town of Southwold
Adnams The Harbour Inn pub in Southwold, Suffolk.Adnams
The design was based on the Harbour Inn, an old pub in Southwold run by local brewery Adnams