Tesco now controls over 30% of the grocery market in the UK. In 2009, the supermarket chain announced profits of over £3bn. Growing evidence indicates that Tesco's success is partly based on trading practices that are having serious consequences for suppliers, farmers and workers worldwide, local shops and the environment. Read our demands

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NEWS ROUND-UP

Government to set up supermarket ombudsman
The Government has announced today that it will accept the Competition Commission's recommendation to establish a new supermarket ombudsman to enforce the new supermarket code of practice and protect suppliers from abuses of power by the big retailers. Read the Government announcement here and an article in the Farmers Guardian, 13th January 2010.

Conservatives: supermarket ombudsman needed to ensure a fair market  
Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference on the 5th January, Shadow Environment Secretary, Nick Herbert called for a new age of agriculture and pledged a future Conservative Government to create a supermarket Ombudsman to curb abuses of power by the major food retailers. He committed a future Conservative Government to create a supermarket Ombudsman as a dedicated unit in the Office of Fair Trading.  For further information please see an article in the Times, 4th January 2010.

New planning policy
New streamlined planning guidance, Planning Policy Statement 4, which combines town centre and economic development policy into a single streamlined statement, was published by the Govenment on the 29th December. The revised guidelines keep the important 'sequential test' for town planners, which requires the most central town centre sites to be developed first for shops, leisure and offices rather than out of town sites that lure high street shoppers away, but removes the "need test".  The Association of Convenience Stores is concerned that the new policy will "weigh heavily on underresourced planning departments in local councils, who will have to interpret and implement a policy that is ambitious, contradictory and highly subjective. Ministers have a long way to go to convince us that the new policy will be effective in preventing the highly resourced and determined supermarkets from imposing unwanted new developments on communities." Please see an article in the Times, 30th December 2009.

Tesco says "sorry" for development area
Campaign group SAVE (Save Ashtead's Village Environment) has exposed an error in a new planning application from Tesco. Tesco's first application was turned down earlier this year and it has now submitted a new application in which it claimed the store size was 32 % smaller than the original application. SAVE has analysed the data and found the new application to be only 24 % smaller. Tesco has now admitted the error. Please see an article in thisissurreytoday.co.uk, 10th December and yourlocalguardian.co.uk, 13th December 2009.

Banbridge - largest Tesco store in Ireland turned down
Stormont Environment Minister Edwin Poots has ruled against plans for the huge store over concerns that it would have too significant an impact on trade in Banbridge town centre. The Planning Appeals Commission also ruled against the plans at a public inquiry earlier this year. For more information please see the campaign case study.

Minister turns down Tesco/ Everton stadium development in Kirkby
John Denham, the Secretary of State has upheld the planning inspectorate's decision to refuse the application for the Tesco/Everton stadium development in Kirkby stating it would draw business away from other town and city centres. Planning inspector Wendy Burden, who presided over the nine-week public inquiry last year, heard five opposing councils condemn the plan claiming it failed every test that the Government had set before it. Read the Secretary of State's decision here and read coverage of the decision in the Liverpool Daily Post.