Tegel's plans to build the country's biggest poultry farm near Dargaville have been killed off by the Overseas Investment Office (OIO).
Tegel came up against huge local opposition when it sought permission to build 32 supersize poultry sheds on 200 hectares of former dairy land at Arapohue.
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Animal rights activists and local Maori protested in August, calling the idea a "huge stinking eyesore" with concerns about noise, smell and pollution.
Many locals felt the poultry farm would bring down the community and degrade property values.
Tegel says it would have brought 34 new jobs, but the OIO was not convinced.
On Monday evening, Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage announced the OIO has rejected Tegel's bid based on uncertainty around the economic benefits that the farm would produce.
Kaipara's mayor Dr Jason Smith says the outcome is disastrous, and the farm was a real investment opportunity for the region which has now been lost.
"This is extremely disappointing for us because the Government appears to be actively discouraging investment in our region," Dr Smith told Newshub.
"Eighty million dollars is being pumped into Northland through the Regional Growth fund, but Kaipara is seeing virtually none of this."
"How are we supposed to move forward as an investment-ready district?"
Newshub.
