For over 30 years, Night & Day Cafe has been a staple in Manchester’s music and cultural appeal. The venue hosts live shows and club nights, and remains at the peak of its popularity in Northern Quarter today. However, last year the owners received a noise abatement notice from Manchester City Council following a resident’s complaint, with the future of the venue now hanging in the balance.
The resident in question moved into an apartment next door during lockdown when Night & Day was shut for obvious reasons. When Night & Day reopened and normality resumed, much to the joy of locals and visitors to the city, the noise complaint was made to the Council. Now, after appealing, Night & Day Cafe faces a court case at the end of November to save its future.
Elbow frontman, Guy Garvey commented: “This is a shameful disgrace and we are furious. Manchester’s music and arts are things we all share and are rightfully proud of. The council and its politicians, its football teams and its universities all use our music in proud promotion.
“Night & Day has taken hundreds of Manchester artists from bedrooms and garages to the world stage. The vibrant scene started by Night & Day triggered enormous redevelopment in what we now call the Northern Quarter and making all this happen is a constant bill to bill balancing act. That this corner stone of our city’s culture is under attack again is bewildering.”
Night & Day say they received a copy of the planning file for the redevelopment of the building next door where the complainant lived, and were shocked to find that a crucial acoustic report had not been provided, nor acoustic works completed to the development before it was occupied. This was a condition of the planning consent for conversion of the building next door, to ensure that residents were not disturbed by noise from pre-existing businesses in the area.
Owner, Jennifer Smithson says: “What is particularly galling is that the planning department knew about the potential for noise disturbance from Night & Day when it issued the planning consent to turn the warehouse next door into residential flats. A separate acoustic report was required to establish what could be done to prevent noise from Night & Day impacting residents of the building. However, no separate acoustic report was ever prepared by the developer and the planning department allowed the building to be occupied without suitable acoustic insulation works.
“We now have to either accept the noise abatement notice, which will put us at risk of immediate prosecution in the event of noise complaints, or go to court at significant expense to appeal it. This could mean the end of Night & Day forever. It’s a nightmare.”
The date of the court hearing is the 29th November – 1st December 2022. Anyone wishing to support Night & Day can sign the petition to save the venue at change.org and follow #savenightandday.
…
Follow us here:
“If you could go out for a drink with any three musicians, past or present, who would you choose and why?” – That’s what we ask our guests on the Fantasy Pints Podcast! Season 2 is underway now, with the latest episode below. You can check out all episodes on Spotify, Apple and YouTube, including interviews with DMA’s, The Wombats, Jamie Webster, Phoenix Nights’ psychic Clinton Baptiste, impressionist Scheiffer Bates and plenty more!
