Planning minister Keith Hill has blocked plans for a major expansion at the Merry Hill regional shopping centre in Dudley, West Midlands.
Landlord Chelsfield had won backing from the local authority to redesignate Merry Hill as a town centre in its own right, which would mean it was no longer subject to the planning restrictions on out-of-town development.
Under the draft regional plan, Merry Hill would have been merged with the nearby Brierly Hill town centre, but Hill rejected the proposal.
In a parliamentary statement, he said that such a decision could only be made in the context of a wider study into retailing across the whole of the Black Country.
Hill added that any expansion of the Merry Hill centre would be subject to transport improvements.
Chelsfield had drawn up a masterplan for the area that would have seen£500 million of new investment over a 10-year period, but it has now been sent back to the drawing board.
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