Night & Day noise and stress made complainant a ‘recluse’, court told

The partner of the man whose noise complaint against Manchester’s famous Night & Day music venue could see it close has told a court he has become a “recluse” and lost 30kg due to stress.

Speaking at Manchester magistrates court on Wednesday, he said the couple had moved out in May as living near to the venue was not sustainable, due to the noise and fears for their safety after the complaint.

Night & Day were served with a noise abatement notice from Manchester city council in November due to complaints from a neighbouring flat. The couple moved into their home during lockdown and first submitted a complaint when the venue reopened.

In response, a campaign has been launched to save the 31-year-old venue, which has been in the city’s Northern Quarter since before the surrounding residential blocks were built. The campaign has attracted the support of Elbow singer Guy Garvey, who described it as a “vital organ of culture”.

Jay Taylor, chair of Greater Manchester’s music commission, and Sacha Lord, the region’s night-time economy adviser, have also called on the council to drop its legal action against the venue.

The partner of the complainant said: “It wasn’t sustainable to live there any more with the noise. After the [noise abatement] notice was served, the media made us feel very uncomfortable in Manchester. We would see hundreds of comments on social media that were very threatening.”

He said they had borrowed £11,000 to install soundproofing and raise the living room floor to stop vibrations coming through furniture.

Speaking to the court on Tuesday, Jennifer Smithson, co-owner of Night & Day, said it was “absolutely terrifying” that her business could be taken away from her and said she had thought Manchester city council would “be proud of us”.

“It’s had a huge impact because this is my family business. I’ve grown up with this business since the age of 12. I’ve worked at this business for 17 years. It’s absolutely terrifying that it’s now going to be taken from me,” she said.

“I’m in shock. I can’t understand why the council thinks Night & Day have done something wrong. I thought they’d be proud of us. I’m at a loss as to why I’m sat here in a court room.”

The venue has responded to the previous complaints submitted in 2005 and 2014. Since then, Night & Day have deployed sound mitigation techniques and have held quarterly meetings with nearby residents – though no one turned up to the last three.

Sarah Clover, solicitor for Night & Day, was scathing towards the council’s approach to the venue. “On [Night & Day’s] 30th anniversary, the council celebrated by serving them a noise abatement notice,” she said.

“Manchester city council is a national poster for failing to join up their left, right and middle hands – their environmental, planning and licensing departments.”

Council officers who served Night & Day with the notice spoke in court on Wednesday. They admitted they had no contemporaneous notes or records from 13 November 2021 when they issued Night & Day with the noise abatement order. They have notes and records for every other visit made to the complainant’s premises.

They also said they were not aware of the previous actions taken against Night & Day, nor a planning document from 2000 from the block in question where it says a noise level of 35 decibels is acceptable. An acoustic expert measured noise levels by the decks in the venue, the loudest point in the room, and said he recorded 33 decibels.

In the early hours of 13 November 2021, one council official said she could hear the lyrics of Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics in the complainant’s bedroom. While it was agreed that “excessive noise” was subjective, one official said they “define excessive as beyond the normal”.

A decision is expected in January next year.