A go-to destination when it comes to the music and arts scene in Manchester over the last 30 years, Night & Day Cafe could risk closure due to a noise complaint. The future of a Manchester music venue which has hosted bands such as Wet Leg, Elbow and the Arctic Monkeys is under threat as the owners are to appear in court this week over alleged breaches of statutory noise levels.
This comes after Manchester City Council issued the venue on Oldham Street with a noise abatement notice in November 2021. However, despite appealing the notice, the Northern Quarter bar could close and this has resulted in the owners starting a petition to save this much-loved venue.
The row centres on a complaint from neighbours in an adjoining property, which has recently been converted for residential use. Should Manchester City Council decide to not remove the notice then the owners of Night & Day will be at a hearing on November 29 for three days at Manchester Crown Courts appealing the notice. If their appeal is unsuccessful then this puts the venue at immediate risk of prosecution in the event of a noise complaint.
Taking to Twitter, the owners of Night & Day explain that for them “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.”
The closure of Night & Day Cafe has seen numerous musicians rally around to save this venue including Guy Garvey, lead singer of Elbow, who described the music spot on BBC Radio 4 Today as “the hub for all of Manchester’s music, not just music but its literature and its arts, and it remains that to this day.” Matt Healy, lead singer and rhythm guitarist of The 1975, also said: “This CANNOT happen. The council need to drop the case.”
Plus, Jeremy Pritchard of Everything Everything spoke to Night & Day Cafe on the eve of their court appeal, saying: “Before Night & Day, there was no ‘Northern Quarter’, just no-go Ancoats. The NQ has been made a desirable and vibrant area by Night & Day and its contemporaries, and its sought after and costly residential developments have, ironically, fostered the noise complaints that now threaten the very fabric of what made people want to live there in the first place. It’s a cultural Gordian knot.
The bass guitarist, who also tours with Foals, finished his interview by saying: “If Manchester cannot protect the Night & Day it isn’t a Music City.”
On their petition, Night & Day Cafe writes: “We also ask not to be labelled as a ‘nuisance’. We believe we are a real cultural asset to the city of Manchester, the North West and to the UK as a whole.
“We believe we are a key part of Manchester and are very proud of what we do and have achieved. During lockdown, we were fortunate to receive Arts Council funding for being recognised as a place of cultural significance and also an Expanded Additional Restrictions Grant for Cultural and Entertainment value from Manchester City Council.”
To help save Night & Day Cafe from closure, the owners as well as famous names in the music industry such as Elbow’s frontman, Guy Garvey, are requesting people sign their petition here.