Approaching the north-east, a band (7)
I believe the answer is:
nearing
'approaching' is the definition.
('near' can be a synonym of 'approach')
'the north-east a band' is the wordplay.
'the north east' becomes 'ne'.
'band' becomes 'ring' (synonyms).
'ne'+'a'+'ring'='NEARING'
(Other definitions for nearing that I've seen before include "Moving towards" , "Getting close to" , "Approaching" , "Drawing closer to" .)