The fight between Britain's boisterous supermarkets and their passionate critics has long been intense. The Competition Commission, playing the role of judge, has awarded the points in its long-awaited report into groceries, and honours are even.

Critics of the supermarkets hoped to see a forced sell-off of assets and land holdings to bring an end to the Tesco-town phenomenon, in which entire areas are dominated by one supermarket. They found no sympathy from the Commission.

But the defenders of high street diversity have convinced the Competition Commission that the planning rules need a shake-up, and that the relationship between supermarkets and their suppliers can be toxic. The new tool for local authorities in planning disputes will be a competition test. At present, local planners can decide whether to allow a store at all, but cannot dictate which supermarket can take advantage of the decision. Planners will now be able to block a new Tesco, but allow a new Asda - depending on the spread of existing stores locally.

The critics are not mollified by these new powers. Although the Commission's report will increase the competition between the Big Four supermarkets, it will do little to stop them from dominating the local landscape. Tesco-town will become Tesco-with-a-few-Asda's-town, rather than a retail haven of friendly butchers and apple-cheeked greengrocers.

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