Shop probe 'to shake up planning'

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A competition watchdog will clamp down on any of the big four UK supermarkets being too dominant in any local area, reports suggest.

The Competition Commission will this week publish initial findings of its 18-month probe into Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.

The watchdog is expected to outline key findings and actions it will take.

It may propose scrapping measures that make it harder for firms to move to an area where they don't have a presence.

Currently a new entrant to a local market must prove that an area requires a new supermarket - a policy seen to favour chains that are already established there.

Squeezed out

The Sunday Times and The Sunday Telegraph both report that the watchdog will propose a "fascia" or competition test - guiding local authorities to give preference to those who do not have a presence in the area, and also taking into account independent stores.

There are also suggestions that the chains will be criticised for their controversial tactic of holding land banks - keeping swathes of land in areas where they have a strong presence, making it harder for rivals to move in.

The Office of Fair Trading referred the £120bn supermarket sector to the Competition Commission in May last year, amid claims that top supermarkets had become too powerful and smaller stores were being squeezed out.

The investigation has been delayed as it looks into claims that Tesco and Asda have been pressurising suppliers to cut prices.

The supermarkets deny any wrong-doing and say they follow a strict code of conduct when dealing with suppliers.

They have handed over millions of e-mails and letters as part of the watchdog's investigation.