East Sussex County Council's planning committee refused to give permission for the pitch to be built on the basis it would disturb nearby homes.
The Big Lottery Fund had awarded a grant of more than £40,000 to the county council's own children's services department for a 'multi-use games area' (MUGA).
The scheme would have seen the MUGA built on the border of the village recreation ground close to the bowls club and the primary school.
It had the backing of Herstmonceux Primary School, Wealden District Council's planning department and many of the sports clubs and community groups in Herstmonceux.
But planning officers said the scheme breached Sport England's guidelines on how close such facilities should be to homes while local residents sent in 25 letters of complaint saying it would attract anti-social behaviour.
Those views appear to have swayed the planning committee which rejected the application.
Herstmonceux Parish Council slammed the decision as a 'serious disappointment'.
In a statement to the Gazette, the council said, "The parish council, which was providing the site on its recreation ground, has worked closely with the county council over the past four years to ensure the use of the games area would be strictly managed to avoid unnecessary disturbance.
"A 2.5 metre gap was proposed between the games area and the boundary of the recreation ground and the fencing would have had noise suppressant qualities.
"The refusal on the grounds the area is too close to adjoining properties is inappropriate as the site is on an existing well-used recreation ground at least 14 metres from the nearest properties.
"Sport England's recommendations for the location of similar games areas with lighting state they should be more than 12 metres from residential properties. It was not proposed to have lighting on this site.
"The County Structure Plan acknowledges the importance of sport and recreation, particularly in rural communities and government guidelines reinforce the links between sport and health.
"It is regrettable that by refusing this application, an all-weather sports facility has been lost to the community."