Luxury villa he rents out at £7,000 a month
WHILE thousands of British homes sank in filthy floodwater, this is the scene that would have greeted Sir Philip Dilley arriving at his Barbados holiday home.
The Environment Agency chief enjoyed Christmas at the gated luxury villa, which boasts a large swimming pool and four sumptuous bedrooms.
The former engineer designed and built the impressive property with his second wife June Delores Mukhtar-Dilley, who is believed to be from the island. He visits Barbados so frequently he once said he felt guilty about the ‘carbon footprint’ left by his flights while the villa was under construction.
When he is not staying at the villa, called Amitola, it is let out for £7,000 a month, according to estate agents.
Bathed in year-round Caribbean sunshine, the retreat is part of a property empire thought to be worth at least £4million. The EA boss also owns two luxury flats within the same impressive mansion block in central London. He is thought to live in one while using the other as his home office.
Father-of-three Sir Philip and his wife, 58, snapped up a two-bed flat in the block 15 years ago for £350,000. It is now worth around £1million.
Four years ago they saw a larger flat in the building for sale for £860,000 and bought it. It is now believed to be worth up to £1.5million.
The couple also have a peaceful country residence close to a village in East Sussex. Over the summer Sir Philip won planning permission for internal alterations to the home, a three-bedroom flat in a Grade I listed mansion, although the planning officer lamented that it might be difficult to squeeze in a full en-suite bathroom for the third bedroom.
Sir Philip, a graduate of Imperial College, London, joined global engineering and architecture firm Arup after leaving university. He rose through the ranks and for five years from 2009 was its executive chairman. From 2011 to 2013 he was a member of David Cameron’s Advisory Group of business leaders and secured the Environment Agency chairmanship the following year.
Four years ago he told an interviewer: ‘In my younger days I believed I could do anything, anywhere. That was a mistake.’
He added that the best advice he ever received was: ‘Not to worry about things you can’t do anything about.’
He also declared that the historical or fictional character he most identified with was: ‘Apollo God of logic.’ Asked if he deserved his hefty pay packet at Arup, Sir Philip declared: ‘Absolutely.’