Billionaire Peter Thiel refused consent for sprawling lodge in New Zealand

Local council decides proposed bunker-like home would negatively impact surrounding landscape

The billionaire Peter Thiel's plans for an elaborate bunker-like lodge in a remote part of New Zealand's South Island have been thwarted, after the local council decided the home would have too great a negative impact on the surrounding landscape.

Second Star, a New Zealand company owned by the PayPal co-founder, had applied to build the sprawling lakeside complex in Wanaka, an alpine South Island region known for its natural beauty and isolation. The plans were fiercely opposed by conservationists, who claimed in submissions that the lodge would destroy our beautiful lake environment".