The Competition Commission is expected to publish today the widely anticipated report into whether there should be tighter rules on where and how many supermarkets are built.

It is likely the report will recommend changes to the planning system and propose the introduction of a new competition test in which planners would consider the current market share of a supermarket chain before granting planning permission, in a bid to discourage monopolies.

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In October, the Commission's provisional findings revealed around 200 areas of the country where consumers had little choice of where to shop.

The 2007 report said: "A lack of competition in certain local markets not only disadvantages consumers in those areas but also allows retailers to weaken their offer to consumers nationally."

It was also revealed that many supermarkets bought up land specifically to stop rivals building competing stores.

Many of the other recommendations outlined in the October report are expected to feature in today's publication including a review of the planning system to allow greater scope for developments on the edge of town centres, while maintaining constraints on out-of-town supermarkets.

(VB/JM)