Voters to decide if areas will remain – or break away – from Brno

Voters from two peripheral municipalities in Brno - Přířenice and Dolní Heršpice – are deciding in a referendum whether to remain part of the Moravian capital or form a separate municipality. Voting began at 9 am on Sunday. The referendum is the initiative of a civic association protesting plans by the city to develop local property near existing homes in an area known as Slunná louka. Activists and locals have criticised the city’s development plan that would allow for robust real estate and industrial development. If more than 50 percent of inhabitants vote for the areas to separate, it will be the first official shrinking of the city’s perimeter in its history. Přířenice and Dolní Heršpice have been part of Brno since 1919.