PURPOSE  

The WhatsApp group brings together small, independent businesses in The Cally and the Cally Local Economies Officers (Islington Council) who all have a shared interest in how we can support and improve the local economy, area and community in the Cally. Together, we make up the Caledonian Traders’ Association! 

Our ambition is a local economy that is locally-rooted and has the many wonderful independent businesses at its heart. The Caledonian Traders’ Association provides a platform for Cally’s businesses to come together, share their vision for the local economy and work with the council to support change in the local area. 

The overall purpose of this chat is for businesses to chat with their fellow business neighbours in the area, meet new people, make new connections and share interesting information relating to the local economy and business. Grants, current support opportunities, events and news are also shared in this chat by the council’s Local Economies Officer. 

WHATSAPP CHAT USE GUIDELINES 

We want this WhatsApp group to be a positive and inclusive space for businesses that is interesting, helpful and relevant to the work of our Cally Traders Association. Therefore, please see the following rules. 

• Please do not send multiple messages on multiple occasions – we want to make sure the chat doesn’t get congested. We know how busy you are and have taken feedback that too many messages at one go can make the chat too convoluted. Please remember that every message means a ping/alert on everybody’s phone in the thread, and we know that businesses sometimes leave the chat if they feel inundated with messages. 

• Please keep anything you share in the chat relevant to the overall purpose – local economy/business news, updates, ideas for discussion and collaboration, business support offers and chatting/meeting with fellow business owners about business-related points. If the message is not relevant for local businesses in Cally, please share elsewhere.  

• Issues or concerns directed for Islington Council services can be helpful so council officers can escalate to the relevant teams so things can be improved. For example, reporting waste issues, cleanliness, pavement issues in the chat. However, more lengthy criticism or feedback should be put into an email to your Local Economy Officer so a more direct response can be provided.  

• Issues with local political leadership should be directed to them, and not this group. 

• Collaboration is a core value of the CTA. If you have any ideas around improving the local economy and area, please share these with a clear focus on how this idea can be shaped together. We advise speaking to your Local Economy Officer and the CTA Board so that opportunities for co-production can be explored together in detail.  

Please note that disregarding the above rules might result in you having to leave the chat, and therefore the association, a decision that will be made by the CTA Board. This is because it’s important that this remains a positive space and network for all Cally businesses.  

Signed:  

Paul O’Brien - Co-Chair  

Neil Gathani - Treasurer

Florence Cole – Facilitator & LBI Local economy Officer of the Caledonian Ward