In Christchurch, the question was being asked as recently as 2018:
If you look back through our history the issue of too much housing often pops up as a problem. Not surprisingly, the UK is currently in the throes of a debate about whether they should have simpler zoning rules, and yes they too have a lot of people fretting about investors and property developers making all the profits from all the extra houses that might be built. Instead, councillors and planners have a lot more say over what can be built in a neighbourhood. The UK planning system is “discretionary”, and isn’t based on the kinds of zones the Japanese use.
