Noise abatement notice upheld by judge following appeal from Manchester music venue
A judge has upheld a noise abatement notice issued by Manchester City Council after an appeal from the late-night music venue.
District Judge Margaret McCormack found a nuisance was being caused by the DJ club nights that ran from 23:00 to 03:00 on Friday and Saturday nights.
The venue, Night & Day Café, was served with a noise abatement notice by Manchester City Council in November 2021 following noise complaints from an adjacent flat.
Night & Day appealed the notice in court, arguing that when the council’s planning department approved the building of flats next to Night & Day there was “no consideration to the neighbouring pre-existing music venue”.
The independent music venue was opened in 1991 by Jan Oldenburg, who turned it from an old chip shop into a central hub for creative people.
It is said to have helped launch the careers of bands such as Elbow, Arctic Monkeys and Wet Leg, and several artists have publicly shown their support for the venue as it claimed it faced the risk of closure.
The judge ruled that the use of the flat next door was "common and ordinary", but the nightclub operation of Night and Day was not.
The noise abatement notice was varied to allow the venue to continue operating late at weekends under restrictions that limit noise to a "reasonable, practicable level".
A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: “We are glad that this case has reached a conclusion, although it is regrettable that despite many attempts it could not have been amicably resolved prior to Night & Day bringing this court case.
“The council has never sought to close Night & Day and very much want it to remain open and continue to play an active role in Manchester’s music scene.
“Over many months numerous meetings have taken place where we have sought to reach an amicable resolution with the venue, through negotiation and offering compromise, to agree acceptable sound levels which would allow us to uphold our legal duties and the venue to continue to thrive.”
The council spokesperson added: “It is as a last resort and extremely rare for us to issue a noise abatement notice. Manchester's music venues overwhelmingly live in harmony with their neighbours and while complaints and issues are not uncommon, they are almost always resolved through dialogue.
"We welcome the judge’s ruling that Night & Day should use a noise limiter. The use of a limiter was a solution we proposed – and the judgment makes clear that our officers acted correctly in investigating the noise complaints in line with the Council’s legal responsibilities.”
Responding to the ruling, Night and Day said on X: “We are delighted that the Noise Abatement Notice has been amended in favour of @nightanddaycafe with the judge agreeing to the noise levels that we offered to @ManCityCouncil in June 2023 as part of joint testing and negotiations.
“This means we can continue with the club nights that N&D and other live music venues are so dependent on. DJ club nights contribute to developing the raw, amazing talent and emerging live music scene that grace our stage, Manchester and beyond.”
The venue added: “Although N&D has won, we’re disappointed with today's judgement as the venue will have to adjust our club nights to suit an occupier of what is a defective apartment.
“MCC Planning approved the apartment back in 2000 in full knowledge that there would be serious potential for noise problems in this flat and before any resident moved in. Today's decision has huge implications for other Manchester night time industries and operators.”
Lottie Winson
