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 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 (November 30), 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 This'. Days later, the local authority issued a noise abatement notice which the venue appealed, arguing that turning the music down would kill the business.
READ MORE: Night and Day owner tells court in tears venue could close after noise complaint
Manchester 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 reoccur 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'.
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."
Earlier in the day, the court heard from the two council officers who visited Night and Day on November 13 last year. Lorraine Banbrick and Jonathon Mathers were contacted about noise at the flat coming from Night and Day at 1.50am and visited the apartment at 2.12am.
She told the court that 'nuisance' is a 'subjective assessment' and that her 'main aim is to get a happy resolution for both sides'. Ms Banbrick accepted that the Northern Quarter has a 'vibrant nighttime economy', but insisted what she heard on November 13 amounted to 'nuisance'.
The pair stayed in the flat until 2.46am and felt the noise was at a level which could prevent sleep. Ms Banbrick said she could identify the songs being played from a club night at the venue, including the 'high pitch vocals of Sweet Dreams are Made of These', as well as the voice of a DJ.
Both officers said they did not measure the sound levels that were audible in the flat, but felt they were 'excessive'. The court heard they went outside to discuss what they heard, before Ms Banbrick returned to the flat from 2.51am to 3.05am, while Mr Mathers went inside Night and Day.
Ms Banbrick told the court she then spoke to a member of staff at Night and Day. She said: "A solution in my eyes at that time would have been to reduce the volume of music."
The officer claimed she was going 'round in circles' with the member of staff. Mr Mathers insisted the council had 'exhausted all possible' options before issuing the abatement notice, but admitted he had not considered whether the venue would even be able to comply with it.
Sarah Clover, representing Night and Day, said the member of staff's version of events from the night was different to the council's - and CCTV showed him going to turn the music down after the conversation. Neither Ms Banbrick and Mr Mathers still had the notes they took on their phones on the night, with both claiming their notes were written into their statements.
Ms Banbrick wrote a statement five days later, but Mr Mathers' statement was written in April. Ms Clover said: "That's sloppy at best, suspicious at worst... it's particularly unacceptable when the council's case is founded on things that people have supposedly said and done on that night."
Both officers had previously been called out to the property, where a bedroom shares a party wall with Night and Day, and on each separate occasion they did not consider the complaint amounted to 'nuisance'. The court also heard that Manchester Council's environmental health officers, which dealt with the complaint, were not aware of a planning condition from before the flat was built which allowed noise of up to 35dB in the affected room.
Ms Clover suggested the council's teams were working 'in silos'. Ms Banbrick added: "Simply because a premises has permission to carry out an action under planning permission does not give it an automatic right to carry it out in any which way."
Mr Chesney's partner, who was due to appear in court today (November 30) but did not due to 'stress' could still be called to give evidence in the new year. The hearing will continue on January 17.
Read more of today's top stories here.
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