Manchester institution Night & Day Cafe has launched a petition to ‘keep the venue open’ after a ‘new resident’ in the area repeatedly filed noise complaints.
The Northern Quarter gig venue, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this weekend, was issued a Noise Abatement Notice (NAN) by Manchester City Council last week.
Night & Day says that a new resident in the area has reported them to the council ‘a number of times’ for excessive noise, but insists that the venue is operating exactly as it has for decades.
In a petition launched today – which has, at the time of writing and just hours after it launched, attracted a whopping 16,500 signatures – Night & Day criticised the number of residential properties that have been built around existing businesses with ‘no real thought or consideration’.
The petition says: “We are devastated by this action served upon us. Help us to keep the venue open!!”
Inside Night & Day Cafe. Credit: Facebook (Night & Day Cafe / Adam Robertshaw)
Manchester City Council has said that it hasn’t, in fact, threatened Night & Day with closure and that a NAN can’t be used to close a venue, but that it ‘has a duty’ to investigate claims of noise nuisance.
A council spokesperson said that officers found that noise levels at the Oldham Street business were ‘causing a nuisance’ and that it tried to reach a solution with the venue before issuing a NAN.
Night & Day’s petition says: “Since lockdown and as restrictions have been lifted, we have gradually returned back to what we do – being a small independent live music venue. Over the past few months we’ve been really encouraged by having live music events on six nights a week – back to what it was pre-covid.
“During lockdown a new resident moved to Manchester and to a property that’s within close proximity to the venue.
“As the restrictions lifted and life retuned to the surrounding Northern Quarter area, we were able to put on our first live music event. The resident visited us next day and has since reported us to MCC a number of times.
“We have met the resident a number of times to explain what we do and that nothing has changed operationally to how we operated pre-lock down and the 28 years prior to that.
“We ask for Manchester City Council Licensing to remove our Noise Abatement Notice and for the Council to address the real issue here which is that housing with ill-considered planning and construction has been approved and built next to a pre-existing live music business.
“Night & Day is located at 26 Oldham Street. Over the past 15 years, flats have been built or existing buildings converted to flats around us with no real thought or consideration to the pre-existing business, building and what it does.
“We also ask not to be labelled us as a ‘nuisance’. We believe we are a real cultural asset to the city of Manchester, the North West and indirectly to the UK as a whole.
Night & Day Cafe is now surrounded by apartments. Credit: Google Maps
“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.
“Night & Day will be exactly 30 years old this Saturday and has busily been preparing for a week of celebration with a number of special 30th Birthday events to mark this milestone.
“Despite us having been served a Noise Abatement Notice several years ago, fighting our position and surviving, despite the venue being shut for the past year and a half due to the pandemic, re-opening again and only just recently getting back to what we do, we’ve now been presented with this new second notice. We are devastated by this action served upon us.
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “To be clear the Council has not threatened Night and Day with closure. A Noise Abatement Notice (NAN) has been issued following complaints of excessive noise. A NAN cannot be used to close a venue, it is used to prevent continued noise nuisance.
“Following a number of repeated complaints from residents living nearby the Council investigated allegations of excessive noise coming from Night and Day. During these visits the Council’s officers found that noise levels were causing a nuisance.
“The Council has a duty to investigate complaints of noise nuisance and where a statutory nuisance is found to have occurred, the Council is under a duty to serve an Abatement Notice on the person responsible. The Council has on multiple occasions tried to engage with this venue to try and reach a solution which works both for them, and residents. In spite of this further issues were reported, which meant the Council was left with no option other than to issue a NAN.
“The venue is entitled to appeal this Notice, and we would encourage them to work with the Council to avoid any future enforcement action.”
Featured image: Facebook – Night & Day Cafe
News
Feel Good Club becomes Manchester’s latest independent cafe to announce ‘heartbreaking’ closure
Emily Sergeant
Manchester mental health cafe Feel Good Club is the latest independent to sadly announce it’ll be closing its doors for good.
You may know the Feel Good Club from the success of its wellbeing-focused cafe which opened in the heart of the Northern Quarter in October 2020, where it has since been brewing up quality coffee, serving all-day brunch full of all your favourite comfort foods, and hosting regular events to bring the Manchester community together.
The Feel Good Club movement actually started humblyas an Instagram page filled with uplifting messages and top tips, however, by founders Kiera and Aimie Lawlor-Skillen.
The carefully-curated social media page aimed at normalising the stigma around mental health and has since flourished into a successful platform of 530,000+ followers, and has led the pair to being able to release their own book, clothing lines, start a podcast, and so much more.
But the upcoming closure of its Northern Quarter cafe next month is one that will hit Manchester hard, amid a growing number of independent businesses struggling to stay afloat.
Feel Good Club has announced the closure of its Manchester cafe / Credit: The Manc Group
Taking to Instagram yesterday to announce the closure, Feel Good Club wrote: “We’re absolutely gutted to have to deliver this message but, just weeks before our fifth birthday, our venue in Northern Quarter will be closing on the 23 September.
“We’ve spent the past 12+ months seeing some of our favourite venues in the city closing around us, and whilst we’ve been trying to do everything in our power not to, it’s felt like an inevitability that we’ve been unable to escape, and we’ll sadly be joining the list of some incredible places that have been lost to the current hospitality crisis.
“Holding on any longer would mean risking letting down our team and suppliers, and they come first here.
The Northern Quarter cafe opened its doors in October 2020 / Credit: The Manc Group
“We’ve poured every part of ourselves, our lives. and energy into the physical venue of Feel Good Club.
“We’ve loved, we’ve lost, and we’ve had some of the best moments of our lives in that space, joined by friends, family, and the chosen family we have met along the way. From the cabarets and dancing on tables, to the weddings, the markets, the protests, the music, the memorials, and the real, raw, and important conversations.
“We’d like to thank everyone who has brought their visions to life in the club.”
Founders Kiera and Aimie then went on to thank every single visitor who’s ever come through the doors of their cafe, as well as all the staff who have worked there over the years, and ultimately, everyone who has supported them on their journey.
They also made sure to add that ‘this is not the end for Feel Good Club’ and that they are actively looking for pop-up opportunities to keep the community alive.
“We will continue to be exactly what it always has been – a safe corner of the internet for everyone and anyone that needs it,” their statement concluded.
Feel Good Club will close its doors in the Northern Quarter on Tuesday 23 September 2025, so make sure you go and show them some love before then.
___
If you or anyone you know is struggling right now, please know that you are never alone and there are many different places you can reach out to for support right here in Greater Manchester.
Suffering in silence never need be the way.
Manchester Mind – An organisation that has supported people in Manchester for over 30 years. Most services are now available over the phone, by email or video call. The number is 0161 769 5732 and the opening hours are Mon to Fri, 10am-2pm.
The GM Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust– The local NHS helpline is open 24/7 which you can call any time, day or night, if you feel your mental health is beginning to suffer: 0800 953 0285.
Andy’s Man Club – A group dedicated to starting conversations about mental health, assuring people that it’s ok to talk. You can contact them by email on: [email protected].
CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably supports people via phone and webchat. You can call 0800 58 58 58 or speak to a support worker online. Open 5pm to midnight.
Samaritans – The Manchester & Salford Samaritans offer emotional support by telephone and email. The phone lines and email support are available 24/7. Call 116 123 or visit the website.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
News
Greater Manchester Mayors deliver update on Salford Red Devils situation
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham revealed details from the minutes of his meeting with the Rugby Football League (RFL) over the August bank holiday, sharing key updates from the crucial sit-down in hopes of securing the future of Salford Red Devils.
The Mayor and his Salford counterpart, Paul Dennett, met with chief executive Tony Sutton and other key RFL figures to discuss the ongoing crisis at Salford Red Devils, who remain on the brink of collapse.
Supporters marched on the streets of 0161’s second city in the immediate aftermath, expressing their dismay at the continuing struggles both behind the scenes and off the pitch, and Burnham was quick to call a meeting with the RFL as a result. The fans have remained in full voice throughout.
Posting a joint statement on social media, the pair wrote: “We would like to take the opportunity to thank the RFL and clubs across the Super League for their ongoing commitment to assist Salford Red Devils in fulfilling all other fixtures and get the club to the end of the season.
“Following that meeting, we have requested a meeting this Friday with the Jacobsen Management Group, the current owners, to discuss our serious concerns over the future of the club.
“The impending HMRC court hearing, the failure to meet tax obligations, the delay in payment of wages, and the lack of financial investment have resulted in a complete loss of confidence in the ownership among fans and the wider Salford and rugby community.”
Stating that “Salford Red Devils [still] face an uncertain future”, leading fan group The 1873 confessed that while it has been seen as a “welcome step”, it nevertheless “felt short of reassurance and commitment we’d hoped for.”
In short, they said: “We will no longer sit back while the club we love is reduced to a shell by those who do not speak to us, do not listen, and do not understand what Salford means.” They also called out the somewhat one foot in, one foot out ownership group and so-called current ‘stewards’ of the club directly.
You can read their response in full down below.
Yesterday’s statement from Andy Burnham & Paul Dennett is a welcome step, but not the one Salford fans wanted.
It felt short of reassurance and commitment we’d hoped for.
The future of the club and community deserves more.
Furthermore, Burnham and Dennett went on to add: “Following discussions between the parties involved, there is clear agreement that Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Salford City Council and the Rugby Football League are resolute in their commitment to safeguard the club.
“We are committed to working together to secure the long-term future of the club, to implement a city-wide rugby strategy, and to honour the generations of players, supporters, and communities who have carried its spirit through more than 150 years of rugby league.”
What about you, Salford Red Devils fans – what did you make of both statements, and how hopeful are you that the storm will clear around the club?
Daisy Jackson -
24th November 2021 
