Tlon Books reopens

The secondhand bookshop on the ground floor of the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre closed suddenly at the end of January when the premises were repossessed by the landlords.

Owner Marek Siemaszko last week used the London SE1 Forum to thank customers for their support.

He says that a temporary solution has been reached to enable his shop to resume trading, but lays the blame for difficult trading conditions firmly at the feet of Southwark Council who he accuses of "neglecting the tenants".

Siemaszko says that the shopping centre – where he has been a tenant for a decade – is "blighted" by the continuing uncertainty over the exact timetable for the centre's closure and demolition as part of the major regeneration of the Elephant & Castle.

"They expect us to survive without doing anything to help us to do so," he told the London SE1 website.

Tlon Books is open 7 days a week. To celebrate the re-opening the shop is holding a sale with 20% off all books.

• Southwark Council's ruling executive received a deputation of Elephant & Castle traders at its meeting on 30 January. The executive affirmed the council's willingness to develop a "business continuity charter" to seek to ensure continuity of trade throughout the development of the shopping centre and until new provision has been developed.