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Borough Market area comes back to life 7 days after terror attack

Residents, tourists and workers have returned to the London Bridge area as police lifted most cordons a  week after the terror attack.

Borough Market area comes back to life 7 days after terror attack

Ceren SAGIR

The last remaining police cordon in Borough Market is expected to be lifted this week although residents and businesses are able to access the area to start clearing up.

Simone and George Holborow moved into a flat above the Southwark Tavern on the evening of the attack and had to leave the very same night. They have only been able to re-enter this afternoon. The pair moved down from Manchester to start their new jobs this past Monday.

“I wasn’t able to start my new job until Wednesday because we couldn’t get access to our flat to get fresh clothes,” said Ms Holborow. “We didn’t have our phones or my purse.

“Everyone has been really generous in the area. The local hotel CitizenM let us stay there for free. We’re just excited to be back now and unpack.”

Jenny Edwards, who is visiting the area from Surrey with her husband Paul Edwards for their anniversary, has said she feels ‘very safe’ in the area despite the recent attacks. “It feels very sad to be here. It’s quite emotional. We’d planned to come weeks before the atrocities and we weren’t going to let it put us off,” she said.

“London has to get on with life. The sooner it’s all open again, the better,” Mr Edwards added.

Megan works at Hastings International, an estate agency right in the middle of the area on Borough High Street. She said: “At the beginning of this week we were actually cordoned off.  As we weren’t able to work in the office we had to work from home.

“We had to keep coming back every single day to check if we were allowed back in, but when we did get back in on Wednesday, it was just really kind of quiet. Not that much noise as it usually is.” She added that business had not been minimised as people were still looking to move into the area. Megan said that she feels safer now that it has all “blown over”.

“I think that everybody just feels a little bit more awkward coming into the area. You notice with the silence that people are just walking past the cordoned off areas and paying their respects, and just so glad that they weren’t here in the evening,” she said.

Chief Executive of Southwark Council Elenor Kelly said: “We understand that the cordons have had a massive impact on local residents and businesses and would like to thank those individuals for their patience, goodwill and hospitality.”


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