Manchester venue Night & Day Café faces closure one year after noise complaint

The popular Manchester gig venue the Night & Day Cafe is once again under threat of closure for a noise abatement notice it was served last year.

The Oldham Street venue posted a statement on its social media pages on Wednesday (26 October), saying that its owners are due to appear in court next month following Manchester City Council’s refusal to lift the notice.

The owners of the Northern Quarter bar – which has a 30-year history and has hosted big-name acts such as the Arctic Monkeys, the Courteeners and Manic Street Preachers – said in a statement they feel have been “mistreated” and the responsibility for resolving the situation lies with Manchester City Council.

Thousands of music fans have signed a petition to save the venue and it is being supported by the city-region’s night tsar Sacha Lord, while the council has said it is not looking to shut the venue down but wants to work to resolve the current situation while upholding its duties regarding statutory noise nuisance.

What has the Night and Day Cafe said?

The Night and Day Cafe has appealed the notice it was served and says it has told council leaders and the town hall’s licensing committee that nothing has changed in the way they operate over the last 30 years.

The owners say that, to their knowledge, there has only been one noise complaint from neighbouring residents and claimed the problem stems from acoustic issues in a nearby building. It says it has passed information on to the council regarding this.

What happens now?

The Night and Day Cafe is due to appear at Manchester Crown Court on 29 November. The owners have expressed their concern that if they are unsuccessful at the hearing they will be forced to close their doors.

The bar said: “If our appeal is unsuccessful then this puts us at immediate risk of prosecution in the event of a noise complaint. For us to comply with the requirements of the notice would effectively ruin Night & Day as a live music venue which would likely mean the closure of the venue altogether.”

How have people reacted?

Around 84,000 people have already signed the online petition to save the venue, using the hashtag #SaveNightAndDay

And it has been shared by famous supporters, such as Manchester musician and Elbow lead singer Guy Garvey and British musician Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

Greater Manchester’s night-time economy advisor Sacha Lord has also been a vocal supporter of Night and Day and has been working with the venue on the issue.

Mr Lord said on Twitter: “Don’t move into a thriving busy area, then complain about noise. It’s ridiculous. The Gov’t urgently need to review out of date legislation.”

What has the council said?

A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: "The Council is, and remains, supportive of the music scene in Manchester which Night and Day has championed, but we have to comply with our duties in respect of statutory noise nuisance.

"It is important to note that the source of complaints regarding this venue relate to very loud music played into the early hours of the morning and not live band performances.

"The Council is NOT seeking to close down the venue and we want to work with the venue to address the noise, for example through suitable acoustic measures."