The hotly anticipated report from the Competition Commission has recommended that no major changes should take place in the grocery market.

Despite hopes from campaigners - and recommendations in a previous report in October 2007 - supermarkets will not have to sell any of their current reserves of land.

However, the much hoped for competition test - in which planners consider the current market share of a supermarket chain before granting planning permission, should be introduced.

But this test will only apply to large stores of over 10,000 square feet.

This means small shops owned by the big four, such as Tesco Express, will be given free rein to carry on opening up in the centre of towns.


Supermarkets will have to alter some of their development practices such as the underhand tactics that enable chains to effectively ban rivals from building stores in towns in which they have a dominant position.

Campaigners have said that this is not enough to discourage monopolies. Sandra Bell at Friends of the Earth, told The Times: "Having a Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrison in your town, rather than four Tescos is not really the answer. It will damage genuine diversity and independent retailers."

One major development that campaigners have welcomed is the recommendation of an Ombudsman, who would have the power to check up on how supermarkets treat their suppliers.

With the four largest supermarket chains now controlling 76.2% of the grocery market experts claim, however, that nothing will change substantially following the exhaustive study.

The supermarkets have argued that their success has come from offering an ever wider and increasingly cheap range of goods.

(VB/JM)