The planned construction of the new entrance to ZOO Brno is being postponed

Brno – Due to objections regarding the design of the new entrance to the Brno zoo with parking, its construction is being postponed. The South Moravian Cohesion Region Council has removed the project from the funding program due to them. In this, Brno, which owns the zoo, had applied for a grant of 45 million crowns from European funds, zoo director Martin Hovorka said today to ČTK. The project has thus been delayed, not canceled.
    Some residents of Brno-Kníničky have previously protested against the plan. As participants in the building proceedings, they expressed concerns that the new part of the zoo with a parking lot for 300 cars, which they would have nearby, would increase noise and dust.
    "Of course, we will continue to work on the project. We have no other choice," Hovorka stated. He reminded that the zoo has a tradition of over sixty years. It is visited by more than a quarter of a million people annually, to whom the garden offers a parking lot with only about ten spaces.
    Hovorka is reportedly aware that the plan has its opponents. He points out that the zoo waited two years for a positive assessment of the project's impact on the environment, known as a large EIA, while it is usually processed in six to nine months.
    Now, the director wants to continue working to obtain a construction permit for the project costing approximately 200 million crowns. His effort will be to convince the project's opponents of its purpose and benefits.
    The director emphasized that in the past, the garden has taken objections into account and adjusted its project accordingly. He is currently uncertain when the zoo might again apply for European grants.
    The garden houses 800 animals of 200 species. The biggest attractions are polar bears and the enclosure of Arctic wolves with an Indian cabin.