Night & Day cafe: neighbours who complained about noise have moved- but Manchester council continues with case

The couple who complained about noise from Night & Day have now moved out of their apartment which neighbours the music venue, a court has heard. But Manchester city council will not withdraw the noise abatement notice which the Northern Quarter bar is now appealing, costing the taxpayer ‘thousands’.

Speaking at Manchester Magistrates’ Court today (30 November, Rex Chesney said he and his partner moved out of the Dale Street flat in May. The couple complained about the noise from the neighbouring music venue when it fully reopened following the lifting of Covid restrictions in July 2021.

Council officers who visited the flat last November during a club night said they could hear the high pitch vocals of ‘Sweet Dreams are Made of These’ [sic]. Days later, the local authority issued a noise abatement notice which the venue appealed, arguing that turning the music down would kill the business.

Manchester city council licensing officer Ben Moran confirmed that there have been no further noise complaints since the notice was served on the venue. He said the council does not want to close the venue and would not prosecute the owners immediately if the noise abatement notice is upheld by the court.

However, Mr Moran said that the town hall would not withdraw the notice because the venue has not taken any steps to address the noise nuisance.

He said: “The notice is enforced because we’ve witnessed a nuisance. There’s potential for that to recur if the residents move back into the property which they should be able to live in.”

Mr Chesney said the apartment has been empty since he and his partner moved out in May because they felt ‘very uncomfortable’ in Manchester. He referred to social media comments which were ‘very threatening’.

He told the court that the media coverage of this case has ‘consumed’ his partner who became a ‘recluse’ and wasn’t eating, leading him to lose 30kg. The couple were living in the Northern Quarter at the time when they bought their flat which shares a wall with Night & Day, Mr Chesney told the court.

He said they moved there because of the ‘character’ and ‘vibrancy’ of the area. But they did not expect the music to ‘make water ripple in a cup by the bed’ in the early hours of the morning, saying the bedrooms became ‘uninhabitable’.

But the noise from the venue made the bedrooms ‘uninhabitable’, he said, and they didn’t expect the music to ‘makes the water ripple in the cup by the bed’.

Mr Chesney said he and his partner spent £21,000 on sound insulation in the apartment, but they could still not sleep due to the music during club nights.

He also claimed the previous owners of the apartment had a problem with the noise, as do other residents, but they are not willing to come forward publicly.

He said: “They don’t want to be identified. The huge media storm has essentially ostracised us in the community. They don’t want to get involved in that.”

Mr Chesney’s partner, who was due to appear in court today (30 November) but did not due to ‘stress’ could still be called to give evidence in the new year. The hearing will continue on January 17.