Night and Day Café faces potential closure

Night and Day has recently raised concerns over Manchester’s community, as it may face closure. Indeed, the venue has received a Noise Abatement Notice from the council, which follows noise complaints made by a resident who lives next to the café.

Following its 30^th birthday celebrations, during which the famous English rock band Elbow came and played live music, the venue decided to share its concern on social media, explaining that they were suffering from a lot of pressure from the council and that they may have to shut down.

Everything started during lowdown, when a new resident moved in the flat just next to Night and Day Café. The venue was closed back then, and no complaints were made. However, since the venue’s re-opening a few months ago, the neighbour has complained over the noise several times, and has contacted the council.

He claims having spent at least £17,000 so far on insulation, in order to reduce the café’s noise impact on his flat, and declared having tried to discuss with Night and Day’s owners to find an agreement.

Night and Day thus decided to start a petition, which has received more than 50,000 signatures so far, in order to gain support from the community. The neighbour stated that this petition “goes to show how much they mean to the community” and that he “would be the first to sign if the shoe was on the other foot!”, but that, for him, “[it’s] not the way the law works.”

Established on Oldham Street 30 years ago, Night and Day Café is one of the most mythic live music venues in Manchester. Over the years, this Northern Quarter-based venue has seen the very beginnings of internationally renowned bands such as Elbow, Arctic Monkeys, Blossoms, and more.  

The famous venue has also been labelled a site of ‘cultural significance’ following Covid-19’s lockdowns and received funding from both the Arts Council and Manchester City Council, in order to get financial help after the sanitary crisis.

He affirmed to the Manchester Evening News that he “love[s] Manchester” and that, by “living in thriving Northern Quarter, [he] expect[s] to hear loud noise etc.” but confessed that “the issues [he] face[s] are not really the gigs – it’s with the club nights”, during which there can be “different DJs running until 3am at least twice a week”, sometimes even later.

Night and Day Café had already faced a noise complaint in 2014 but managed to negotiate with the council to remain on Oldham Street. Indeed, the venue was allowed to keep its licence with new and exceptional conditions, including meeting residents every three months, giving them a contact number for the venue, and keeping a complaints book.