It does help as it confirms my suspicion that it is unelected and unaccountable to the general public. I'm sure the Minister involved would never dream of taking any notice of lobbying by the larger pubcos or breweries.
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Certainly unelected, theoretically the accountability is via the politician who oversees it, so pretty much as accountable as most other things in Government. Gosh the idea that Ministers could be swayed by lobbying or other considerations, well I don't know what to say to such a suggestion.
The thing with historic buildings is that it's a moving target subject to the whims of fashion, which is exactly why the public aren't and indeed shouldn't be involved in decisions. In the 19th Century our now almost universally loved Georgian buildings were almost universally loathed, in the mid-20th century Victorian buildings were thought of as ugly monstrosities, but who would dare to try and pull down St Pancras station now? The experts have the tough job of trying to save a representative selection of the best architecture but they have to predict what will be considered the best in the future. Of course listing doesn't always save a building, owners let them rot or they "go on fire", or they get demolished hours before the listing is confirmed, to name but three ways around a listing.
Thanks for that substantial clarification. I'll try and lighten the tone of this (which for some reason seemed to get personal) and hopefully finish it with this thought.
Michael Gove famously said that "Britain has had enough of experts", thereby claiming to be an expert on gauging the public's opinion of experts after which the public decided they'd had enough of him.
10 of England's Best Post-War Pubs:
https://heritagecalling.com/2018/05/...post-war-pubs/
Though I very much doubt that more pubs were built from 1945 to 1985 than at any other time. Still, an interesting list.