Gloucestershire County Council's cabinet is being asked to support a major milestone to enable progress of improvements to the M5 Junction 10.

At its meeting on 25 January, a report will be presented seeking cabinet approval to submit the scheme's Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the Planning Inspectorate.

If the cabinet report is endorsed, the DCO is planned for submission to the Planning Inspectorate in early 2023. The application will then be considered by the Planning Inspectorate.

If the DCO application is approved, the Planning Inspectorate will make a recommendation to the secretary of state for transport under Section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 for authorisation to build the scheme.

The scheme is categorised as a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP), as defined in the Planning Act 2008. That means the council is required to make a DCO application to the Planning Inspectorate to obtain planning permission to construct the scheme.

Cllr David Gray, cabinet member for environment and planning, said: "We hope cabinet will continue to support this strategically important scheme by approving our request to submit our DCO application to the Planning Inspectorate. The scheme is critical to providing the necessary infrastructure to enable the development of around 9,000 homes and 100 hectares of employment land close to Junction 10 of the M5."