A £30m “world-class” winery complex, designed by Sir Norman Foster, has been blocked after it was likened to a “Teletubby palace”.
Vineyard Farms had hoped to make between 1m and 5m bottles of English wine a year to rival vintages from France, Italy and Spain from a mostly underground facility in Cuxton, Kent.
The Foster-designed scheme would have encompassed a state-of-the-art visitor centre, restaurant, coffee shop and presentation room.
But Medway councillors voted against the plan by eight to five, with one councillor abstaining, saying that it would cause too much traffic and noise, raise the risk of road deaths and damage the green belt and the Kent Downs area of outstanding natural beauty.
