Night & Day share update on noise abatement case ahead of court date

It’s been almost a year and a half since iconic Manchester venue Night & Day was served a noise abatement notice by Manchester City Council following a noise complaint from an adjacent flat.

Following a delay to their hearing, Night & Day are set to return to court to continue their appeal against the notice over two days starting on Tue 21 Mar. In a press release, the venue writes that they expect to hear whether a judge decides to uphold or drop the notice sometime after the hearing.

Since the news of the noise abatement broke, more than 98,000 people have signed a petition to ensure the venue can continue to operate as is. If the appeal is unsuccessful, Night and Day have previously said the requirements of the notice would effectively ruin the space as a music venue and likely lead to its closure altogether.

In a statement, business owner Jennifer Smithson says: “We believe that the source of this issue is that when MCC Planning approved the building of flats next to Night & Day there was no consideration to the neighbouring pre-existing music venue. Consideration of noise was one of the planning conditions specified by MCC Planning department with the developer and is held on public record at MCC Planning portal.

“An initial acoustic report recommended that an additional second report be conducted that addressed any noise ingress from the venue into the flat. This report was never commissioned and the development was signed off. Within the initial acoustic report the complainant’s flat in particular was identified as being at risk from noise ingress – before the flats were even built.

“To make matters even more incomprehensible, since the abatement notice was issued and the complainant has moved out of their flat, there have been no further noise complaints. It’s simply unacceptable for MCC to continue the premise that the responsibility for this planning mistake lies with the developer or builder.

Earlier this month, Night & Day were shortlisted for Music Week magazine’s ‘Grassroots Venue: Spirit of the Scene’ award. Supported by Music Venue Trust, the publicly-decided accolade recognised the importance of grassroots venues to their cities.