Plans for The Tulip, a 305.3-metre-high viewing tower designed by Foster + Partners, have been rejected by London's mayor Sadiq Khan.
Khan rejected the proposal on the grounds that it would provide "very limited public benefit" to the City of London and that it was not the "world class architecture that would be required to justify its prominence".
The viewing platform and gondola ride attraction would not have been free to enter for the public.
The axed tower was due to be built alongside the RIBA Stirling Prize-winning 30 Mary St Axe ? known as the Gherkin, which was also designed by Foster + Partners.
Norman Foster, founder of the studio, defended the "inevitably controversial" design earlier this year, saying the supertall tower had the chance to become a "a world symbol of London". Tulip rejected over concerns for skyline
Plans for The Tulip had originally been approved by the City of London, but the mayor has now rejected the application.
"The mayor has a number of serious concerns with this application and having studied it in detail has refused permission for a scheme that he believes would result in very limited public benefit," said a spokesperson for Khan.

"In particular, he believes that the design is of insufficient quality for such a prominent location, and that the tower would result in harm to London's skyline and impact views of the nearby Tower of London World Heritage Site," the spokesperson a...