Government officials are taking legal advice on whether the new supermarket planning test proposed by the competition regulator will require primary legislation. Building has learned that the fascia test proposed by the Competition Commission as the result of its enquiry in the groceries sector may require an act of parliament. The Competition Commission proposes that all new supermarket stores be subject to a test to ascertain whether they already have a market dominance in that locality. This would require the communities department to designate the Office of Fair Trading a statutory consultee in the planning process.
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