Just four days after the release of the Competition Commission’s largely pro-supermarket ‘emerging thinking’ document, a fresh row has erupted concerning Tesco’s alleged misuse of the planning system.
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A report in UK daily The Guardian has suggested that Tesco used ‘Trojan horse’ tactics in an attempt to gain planning permission for an Express store in North London, accusations that the UK’s largest retailer has denied.
According to the report, which cited letters and emails between Tesco property executive Tom Scorer and the supermarket’s planning consultants, Tesco used an unconnected third-party to win permission to convert a car dealership into a mainstream retail outlet.
Planning was an issue that the CC focused on in its emerging thinking document and it signalled its intention to further investigate claims that supermarkets use the planning system to stifle competition.
A Tesco spokesperson told just-food that the company denies the suggestion that it has manipulated planning regulations. “We strongly deny any suggestion that Tesco has acted improperly in any of its dealings in relation to this site,” the company said.
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