Local councils would be able to include a competition test in their local plans under changes to the planning system proposed by the Conservative Party.

Conservative shadow planning minister Bob Neill, speaking at the Property Question Time event co-run by PublicPropertyUK.com and sister publication Property Week, said it would let councils implement a competition test if they feel it is necessary in their area.

This lets councils refuse developments or lettings to a retailer that already has a large presence in a geographical area.

“Rather than prescribe a one-size-fits-all approach, we think local authorities should have the ability to include the competition test in the local plan to reflect their own local needs and pressures,” said Neill.

Major UK supermarkets – except Tesco – and the Competition Commission had been lobbying to include these powers in the government’s Planning Policy Statement 4 on town centre planning policies.

The party is proposing to replace Local Development Frameworks with a new system of local plans if they win next Thursday’s general election. He said these would be shorter than existing LDFs, and that councils would be able to transfer information from their LDFs to avoid duplication of work.

“We want to get something that’s much more tight and is understandable to the intelligent and well-informed resident, and the intelligent and well-informed developer,” said Neill.

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