Manchester arena in licensing row

Manchester City Council's licensing committee has received objections to the planned opening of the 23,500-seat Co-Op Live arena in April from another local venue and the Music Venue Trust (MVT).

ASM Global, which operates the rival 21,000-capacity AO Arena, currently the UK's largest indoor venue, objected to Co-op Live's license citing "public safety" reasons.

The firm argued Co-op Live should close by midnight and not be given permission to open 24/7 on 25 occasions every year as requested.

During the hearing at Manchester Town Hall, Mark Donnelly, the COO of Co-Op Live's developer, responded:

"We are quite disappointed to see [ASM] trying to put conditions on us when they operate with an unrestricted licence.

"We feel these are competition-based. We feel there's very little from a licensing point of view."

Mr Donnelly also criticised MVT's objection, claiming that it had arisen because Co-op Live "declined" to sign up to MVT's £1-per-ticket levy, which funds its "pipeline investment fund" for grassroots venues.

Niall Forde, Licensing Advisor for MVT, said the claims were "inflammatory" and "entirely false".

He said MVT had supported the opening of the "23,500-seat auditorium bowl" but was concerned that allowing the venue's "ancillary spaces" to stay open later would impact neighbouring residents and businesses. Co-op Live would take trade off smaller venues, he added.

Previous objections to Co-Op Live from Greater Manchester Police, council trading standards, seven councillors and three residents were withdrawn after revisions were made by the organisation.

However, there is still opposition from ASM, MVT, 32 residents, two councillors and the council's public health team.

The licensing hearing continues.