Manchester City Council has been forced to spend more than £60,000 in a three-year legal battle with a local music venue.
The fees were spent on legal fees and acoustic testing after the Night & Day Café challenged a noise abatement notice that was issued in response to complaints from residents.
A decision on the appeal is yet to be made.
A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: ‘It's important to stress that the vast majority of these costs relate to the court case, which was brought by Night & Day rather than the council to contest the noise abatement notice.’
The spokesperson added: ‘Throughout this process, over many months, we have sought to reach an amicable resolution with Night & Day through discussion to agree acceptable sound levels which would work for everyone – without the need for costly court proceedings.
‘Regrettably this has not proved possible, which is why the matter has had to be determined in court. We await the judge's final decision.’