The office will revoke the permit for the construction of an apartment building that was to be built in Brno in place of the demolished villa

Brno – The Regional Building Authority will revoke the permit for the construction of a six-story residential building, which was to be built on the site of the demolished neo-Renaissance villa on Hlinky Street in Brno. Alena Knotková from the regional administration's press department told ČTK today. The construction received a provisional permit from the city hall in January of this year. Some neighbors and the leadership of the Brno-střed district opposed it and filed an appeal. The breakthrough in the case was highlighted by the website archspace.

"Although the Ministry of Culture had to halt the proceedings for declaring the villa as a cultural monument following its demolition, the relevant plots are located within the Brno heritage zone and the conditions for new constructions in this zone must be respected. However, the assessment of the proposal regarding these conditions did not include a written statement from the National Heritage Institute or a binding opinion from the city hall's heritage department. Therefore, it is necessary for them to review it again more thoroughly," Knotková stated. She added that based on the decision of the regional department of culture and heritage care, the authority as an appellate body will revoke the permit.

The owner had the villa demolished in the spring of 2022, which triggered disapproval from both experts and the public. The ombudsman Stanislav Křeček also addressed the issue. According to him, by the time the Ministry of Culture was discussing the listing of the villa as a monument, the owner had already removed the stucco decoration and roof and demolished the historic veranda. The ombudsman's investigation revealed that the authorities did not sufficiently cooperate in the protection and rescue of the villa.

The company Horizon Consulting II. had planned a new construction with three underground and six above-ground floors at the site. The total height of the building, including the recessed fifth and sixth floors, was to be nearly 28 meters. The interior was to include 15 apartments, three commercial units, and 11 studios. A parking lot with 34 spaces was also planned.

The mayor of the Brno-střed district, Vojtěch Mencl (ODS), filed an objection during the permit proceedings, primarily concerning the scale of the proposal. "I am pleased that the regional office agreed with the objections of the city district. The proposal will have to be adjusted according to the new zoning plan and Brno's building regulations as we requested," he told ČTK. According to the new zoning plan, the maximum height of the buildings in the area is set at 16 meters.