The Bag Factory, a grassroots nightlife venue on Dickinson Street in Salford, has been granted permission to extend its opening hours and can now host parties until 4am on weekends.
Owners Fran Melia, 31, and Will Maull, 28, said they were excited to put on more regular events, which include everything from launch parties for 'screamo dance albums' (Jenny Sparks) to Ministry of Sound veteran DJ-duo Ducksounds.
Council approval after sound mitigation evidence
The decision was made at what the pair described as the 'shortest licensing panel meeting ever' at Salford Council, after they submitted a dossier of evidence showing how they had mitigated sound leaking from the venue to the residential estate over the river. This included decibel testing, a control switch for loud bass sounds, and acoustic protection, which was tested 'as loud as possible, with all the most problematic genres'.
The venue has also prepared against anti-social behaviour with extensive CCTV coverage and five SIA-trained doorstaff.
The application received 10 representations from neighbours, but no objectors spoke against the proposal at the meeting on Friday, August 21.
Community-driven venue expansion
The venue has been hosting shorter day-time events for the past year after a monumental community effort to launch the 60-capacity space.
Will said: “We’re very pleased that Salford Council has granted our extended license. The bag factory will continue to be a place where anyone is welcome to put an event on, no matter how big or small. We exist to serve the community and grass roots music.”
Fran added: “We’re really excited for the next year to put on world class events and hopefully get some bigger acts in too.”
Will told the LDRS after the hearing: “We put all our savings and work into essentially creating a blank space for the community. All the character comes from the community. We bought the decks, the sound system, and we built the bar. Everything else – the lights, the decorations, the music, that’s from the community.”
Fran dreamed of launching the venue for years, which she says is a grassroots answer to the increasingly corporate nightlife industry.
