Two forward planners set to leave East Cambs District Council before Christmas will not be replaced if cost saving measure to off load their work to Peterborough City Council are approved.

Chief executive John Hill says the measures could save nearly £28,000 next year – money that could be put into reserve for “specialist support if required”.

Creating a merged planning team will have significant benefits, he says, and will give access to experienced staff with a wider range of expertise from a larger team with no recruitment and redundancy costs.

Wendy Hague, the remaining strategic planning officer, will remain with East Cambs “to provide in house support”.

Principal strategic planning officer Katie Child left last month and strategic planning officer Stewart Patience leaves on December 22.

Mr Hill has asked councillors to approve the changes but has already agreed “under emergency grounds” with Councillor Tom Hunt, chairman of the corporate governance committee, for interim measures to the end of the year.

The chief executive said an advantage of working with Peterborough was of their “extensive experience and knowledge” of the Local Plan process.

“These arrangements offer East Cambs a number of significant benefits,” says Mr Hill.