Wednesday, April 30, 2008
New restrictions for expanding supermarkets in UK?
The Competition Commission produced a report today proposing changes to the planning permission system for Supermarkets and the setting up of an Ombudsman to resolve disputes between retailers and suppliers. The Office of Fair Trading will have to be consulted for all planning applications to build larger supermarkets or extend existing ones. They state that this should make it harder for one chain to dominate an area.
However, there are no proposals to address the concerns of independent retailers that are being squeezed out by the larger chains. The report concluded that smaller shops are "not in terminal decline."
Friends of the Earth state that the regulator had missed the opportunity to support local shops. "The commission has done nothing to recreate vibrant shopping communities for local people", said Sandra Bell, supermarkets campaigner from Friends of the Earth.
The Major chains will undoubtedly claim that the costs of setting this up will fall on the consumer. They will always continue to make their profits though.
source: BBC News
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