The 'unfortunate episode' one side says started 25 years ago... but we might not see another Night & Day row

After two years of legal wrangling, it was over in 45 minutes.

The £160,000 Night & Day Cafe noise row came to a close on Monday morning (March 18). In a short hearing in an almost-empty Magistrates’ courtroom, District Judge Margaret McCormack found that the Northern Quarter venue’s appeal against the noise abatement notice served by the council was unsuccessful.

But although the notice stays in place, the bar scored a major victory as Judge McCormack said it will be subject to new noise limits designed by the expert it appointed.

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It means, in effect, both sides have won their day in court. Manchester City Council successfully upheld the notice it served. Night & Day got the restrictions it advocated for.

Now, there are moves to prevent another noise row — one which led to a debate on how the Northern Quarter is changing and who it is for — happening in Greater Manchester.

In a special report, the Local Democracy Reporting Service examines how the District Judge came to her ruling, how each party reacted, and what the future might hold for developers, councils, and venues alike in the future.

A key aspect of the case was if the use of the bar as a nightclub, playing pre-recorded music in DJ sets, was a ‘common and ordinary use and if it was ‘being conveniently done’’. If it was, then no nuisance could be found.

However, Judge McCormack found ‘this activity was not being conveniently done’ in Night & Day’s case, as the neighbour who complained to the council ‘was told there was nothing more the club could do’ by management in meetings trying to sort the issue out.

“Their reputation lies, to a large