ViaMichelin: How does it feel to be in charge of a huge state conglomerate at such an early age?
Simon Thurley: I am learning a great deal very fast. English Heritage is just like a piece of soap in the bath. Every time you think you have grabbed hold of it, it slips out of your grasp. And if I find it an elusive organisation to understand, so must ordinary people. One of my first tasks is to think through the structure and make it more transparent and comprehensible.

Is it too soon to say then, in simple terms, what your organisation does?
Most people know us as a kind of social security system for important old buildings. We manage 410 buildings that have been taken into care by the state - often because they were under threat from neglect or demolition - from Dover Castle and Whitby Abbey to humble barns and windmills. They are what our 800,000 members have joined English Heritage to see, and they are the basis for all our educational work, our tourism activity and for the highly successful programme of concerts, musical events and historical re-enactments - castles and battlefields really come alive when there are cannons thundering and swords clashing in the sunlight.
That's the highly visible side of our work, but there is a more important part that affects the lives of everybody who lives in or visits our historic towns and villages: that is the work we do in giving legal protection to historic buildings, archaeological monuments and conservation areas, to prevent them from being needlessly altered, demolished or ploughed up.

English Heritage has not always been popular, has it? Newspapers often carry stories accusing you of standing in the way of progress.
It is easy to write a negative story, like the one that appeared a few weeks ago, saying that we 'slapped a Grade II listing on a car park', forcing 'property developers to walk away from an £80 million development in the West End of London'. It makes us look anachronistic and unreasonable.
The truth is often much more complex. We listed the Brewer Street car park because of its importance to early motoring history. Far from standing in the way of the car park's conversion to offices and flats, we are in discussion with the owner to find a solution that would retain the significant architectural elements whilst enabling development to take place. English Heritage is not here to stop progress. It is here to mitigate the effects as far as possible and ensure that the heritage is respected.

Some people would ask 'why bother'?
Because the heritage makes a huge contribution to the quality of people's lives. And it creates jobs and wealth through tourism. Last year's foot-and-mouth epidemic proved that. It wasn't just the farmers that suffered. The countryside was effectively closed down for the most part of last summer, and the tourist industry lost billions of pounds, with hundreds of jobs lost in service industries, such as rural shops, restaurants and hotels.


Is that a message that the Government understands?
Yes, but you do have to keep saying it over and over again. There are many demands on Government spending and heritage isn't the highest priority by any means, especially when voters are calling for more to be spent on hospitals, schools and transport. In a world of competing values we have to keep fighting for the heritage - that's my job, and it requires real campaigning zeal.
Protecting and enhancing England's heritage, not just for people today but for those who come after us, is a huge responsibility and privilege. I passionately believe that our historic environment is an under-used and under-valued asset. I want to ensure that it is made central to our national life, valued for the part it plays in economic and social regeneration and in fostering strong, healthy communities.