THE noise levels at Night and Day have been a point of discussion in the city over the past few months. The on-going row is now heading to court in July for a three-day trial before three magistrates.
"We first began our complaints in October last year and by the time this case goes to court we will have had nine months of this, we just don't know when it will end."
Confidential has been reporting on the noise nuisance row from the initial petitioning by Night and Day to a collection of opinions from all sides of the dispute. The next stage is a three-day trial in which the Night and Day bar and music venue will contest the abatement notice between 9-11 July.
Night and Day stage has been graced by many famous music acts
We spoke to the complainant (who still wishes to remain anonymous):
"The case has now gone to a three day trial, which has left us and the council very unhappy. Night and Day are saying they might be a noise nuisance but are now putting the emphasis on the council and have spoken to the planning department.
"They're bringing up information on the building as they believe it's not adequately insulated and sound proofed. They're saying it's not their fault. Night and Day are arguing that there is a gap between their building and ours which is why there is an issue of noise.
"We don't want to see Night and Day closed down and neither do the council. We just want them to stand by the terms of the notice. We understand they are trying to protect their business but they were fully aware of this court case coming up and we have had the council's noise team out to our flat eight days in a row. Last Sunday and Monday the noise levels were very, very intense.
"We have been in talks with Jennifer, one of the owners, who wanted to come into our flat and assess the noise with a sound engineer. We were happy to allow the engineer in but didn't want to have Jen in so she refused; it was either both of them or nothing.
"We did have an acoustic engineer in on the 27 February who Night and Day had employed to provide a report, but on the night we feel they turned it down so they could have a glowing report that might possibly be used in court. It seems to have become a cat and mouse game with them.
"We were never aware of how bad the noise would be when we moved in, and we feel that is the fault of our landlord. I know people have argued that we moved into a noisy area with bars and clubs but we live on Oldham Street and except for Dry Bar and Night and Day it's mainly shops. It's so frustrating to see people comment the same thing over and over. Canal Street is more of a noise problem, the noise team from the council have told us that.
"Sure, we considered moving but the council's case could collapse if we move. Night and Day are not doing what is right and they are in breach of their licence.
"If they continue to be a noise nuisance the council have told us this will lead to an interview under caution with Night and Day and could open up another case with Night and Day and their licence. This would run alongside the abatement case so there would effectively be two cases.
Equipment specifications for Night and Day
"Night and Day are trying to act like a 20,000 capacity venue. Their equipment specification is excessive for a small venue. They have four bass bins, five smaller basses, wall basses and amplifiers. We just think they should take a few things out, surely they don't need all that equipment. It's just showing off. They can still put on a concert but they are not competing on the same level as the Phones 4U arena. They are next to residential properties and they just dont care. It's simply not fair what they're doing.
"The case is really taking its toll on myself and my partner. We're right next to it and this whole thing has been so stressful. I'm receiving victim support, I've had death threats and it's put a strain on our relationship.
"Our lease on this flat is up until January 2015, we first began our complaints in October last year and by the time this case goes to court we will have had nine months of this, we just don't know when it will end. It's become even worse. We never used to be able to hear the DJ noise after the bands and now we can, it's very loud. It's the bass, it can go on until 3am.
Confidential went to Night and Day to speak to the owners once more, but after some time waiting we were told that the owners, Jan and Jen, were unable or unwilling to comment at this time.
A Manchester City Council spokesman said: "Following the preliminary hearing, Night and Day's appeal against our noise abatement notice has been adjourned until July 9-11. We will continue to maintain dialogue with both parties until that time we remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement which satisfies both parties."
Here are links to the previous two articles covering the Night and Day noise issue:
Night and Day Closure? (January 16)
Night and Day: The Other Side (January 21)
Follow Niamh on twitter @missnspence
