The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has signed a framework agreement with Homes England’s National Housing Bank (NHB) that could help unlock up to £500 million for housing and regeneration projects across the region.

The agreement creates a route for eligible projects to be considered for investment. Each proposal must align with the NHB’s mandate and will be assessed through the bank’s standard due diligence, governance and approval processes. The funding is therefore not guaranteed for any individual project.
The partnership follows the launch of the Greater Manchester Good Growth Fund last year. The fund aims to direct investment towards communities and places across the region through housing, town-centre regeneration, business growth and job creation. NHB chief executive Simon Century said the agreement combined national and local expertise with finance and regionally led ambitions. He said the bank would work with the mayor, regional leaders, partners and local communities to accelerate new homes and mixed-use regeneration schemes that respond to local needs.

Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig said the region had grown faster than anywhere else in the UK over the past decade, but the benefits had not reached every resident or place. She said the Good Growth Fund was established to help spread that growth across the region and prevent communities from being left behind.
Craig said the fund’s first year had supported visible progress, including new homes, town-centre improvements, new businesses and job creation. She added that Greater Manchester wanted to build on that work.
The National Housing Bank was unveiled in June 2025 and opened for business in March 2026. Homes England aims to deploy £16 billion through debt, equity and guarantees to support the development of 500,000 homes.

UK house prices fell at their fastest annual rate in three years in October, as higher borrowing costs and pressure on household finances made prospective buyers more cautious, according to data from mortgage lender Lloyds.

Prices were down 1.2% compared with October 2025, the steepest annual decline since October 2023. The fall was larger than every forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. On monthly basis, prices fell 0.6% in October, following a 0.1% decline in September. Economists had expected prices to rise by 0.1%.

Andrew Asaam, mortgages director at Lloyds, said housing demand was being tested by a difficult economic environment. Renewed inflationary pressures, partly linked to the conflict in the Middle East, were keeping borrowing costs high and tightening household budgets, he said.

UK mortgage rates have risen since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, as market borrowing costs for lenders increased and expectations grew that the Bank of England could raise interest rates further. On Thursday, November 5, the central bank raised rates for the first time in more than three years. Investors are also pricing in further increases during 2027. Asaam said he expected the housing market to remain subdued in the coming months, although he did not anticipate a sustained period of falling prices.

The government has drawn up a plan to invest about $1 billion over the next three to five years to expand Pakistan’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) infrastructure amid rising demand and constraints in the existing supply chain.

The proposed investment includes new import terminals, storage facilities, cylinders, filling plants and transport infrastructure. A senior Petroleum Division official said Pakistan’s annual LPG demand had reached about 2.4 million metric tonnes. Demand grew by an average of 7.5 per cent a year over the past six years and is expected to increase by 8 to 8.5 per cent annually in the coming years. The plan aims to expand the existing supply system and meet projected demand, according to sources.

A KPMG analysis based on government estimates projects that LPG demand will rise from about 2.4 million tonnes in fiscal year 2025-26 to 4.16 million tonnes by FY2032-33. Domestic production is expected to increase more slowly, from around 960,000 tonnes to 1.35 million tonnes over the same period. To bridge the gap, imports could rise from 1.4 million tonnes to 2.8 million tonnes. Pakistan’s existing infrastructure also requires expansion. Both of the country’s seaborne LPG terminals are located at Port Qasim, each with a storage capacity of about 6,500 metric tonnes. The terminals can receive vessels of up to approximately 10,000 dead weight tonnes, while their capacity to handle larger ships and provide additional storage remains limited. About 71 per cent of the country’s overall LPG supply is met through imports, according to a report.
Reports citing Petroleum Division documents have also highlighted rising demand, limited domestic production and reliance on imported supplies. Petroleum officials say disruptions to supply through the western border have underscored the need to diversify import sources and strengthen the transport network.

The proposed expansion could increase import and storage capacity while improving cylinder availability, filling operations and distribution across the country. However, available reports do not specify the plan’s final approval status, project schedule or implementation details.

Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Director General Tahir Farooq visited Pine Axes and Pine Executive in LDA City and reviewed ongoing development work at both projects. He said Pine Axes, located at a prominent site on Pine Avenue, would become a new commercial centre for the city. Pine Executive, he added, was being developed as a residential project offering one-kanal plots.

Officials briefed the DG that public interest in both projects was increasing. Plots in Pine Axes and Pine Executive have been launched in the market. The first phase includes 8-marla and 2-kanal commercial plots in Pine Axes, as well as one-kanal residential plots in Pine Executive.

Tahir Farooq said the plots, located on Pine Avenue, would be allotted through balloting on a two-year instalment plan. The deadline to apply for the balloting is December 3. Applicants can submit their applications online through the LDA website.

Following the visit, Farooq chaired a meeting on development work and land acquisition in LDA City. Additional DG UP, the LDA chief engineer, the director of LDA City, Chief Town Planner-II, the director of auctions, the director of engineering for LDA City and other relevant officials attended.

More than one million acres acquired for the development and settlement of Punjab’s Thal region have come under investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). A comparison of official land acquisition notifications and revenue records has revealed a discrepancy of 552,602 acres across five districts: Layyah, Kot Addu, Bhakkar, Mianwali and Khushab.

According to media reports, land acquisition notifications show that 1,016,007 acres were acquired for the Thal Development Authority (TDA). The Board of Revenue’s records list 507,688 acres, while deputy commissioners’ records collectively show 463,405 acres. The difference between the notified area and the district records amounts to 552,602 acres. A report published in September also cited a discrepancy of around 552,000 acres in the NAB inquiry, although its figures for the total area differed slightly.

The investigation covers alleged illegal adjustments of state land, questionable claims to the right of return, possible manipulation of records and transfers of land to private claimants or government departments. According to reports, complete records for three revenue estates in Kot Addu are unavailable, while records for five estates in Bhakkar are also reportedly missing. In Layyah, acquisition notifications list 566,360 acres, but the area shown in various revenue entries does not match that figure.
Investigators are also examining alleged land adjustments made through forged files and transfers based on purported “RL-II” claims. Details published in September alleged that around 23,000 acres had been adjusted through fake “Nathi Bai” files. Of that area, 5,000 acres were reportedly transferred back to the TDA in government records. The same report said 6,100 acres had been transferred on the basis of alleged fake RL-II claims, which the Board of Revenue had declared bogus.

A recent report, citing NAB records, said more than 22,500 acres had been resumed or transferred to the government in three districts, with an estimated value of around Rs 95 billion. Earlier, on September 25, NAB Multan and the district administration restored 3,831 acres in Kot Addu to the TDA, with an estimated value of about Rs 8 billion. The related land mutations were cancelled. NAB said the process was carried out with care to protect the rights of lawful owners and genuine claimants.

The Thal Development Act, 1949 empowers the authority to frame development schemes and acquire land in accordance with the law. It also provides a process for objections to proposed acquisitions. NAB and revenue officials are now reviewing records relating to the historical acquisition of land, right-of-return claims and subsequent transfers.