HUGE changes within the York-based Shepherd Group, were announced today.

Patrick Shepherd, the deputy group chairman, now takes over the chairmanship of the £400 million-turnover construction and engineering division.

That is the post once held by his cousin, Paul Shepherd, the former group head, who claims that he was sacked by his family firm.

Paul Shepherd has since issued writs on the group in the High Court and at tribunal for unfair and wrongful dismissal.

Julian Roskill, of London law firm Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, representing Paul Shepherd, said the case was now proceeding to trial at the High Court in London at a date to be fixed some time next year.

Patrick steps into the shoes of Alan Rowlinson, who was appointed interim divisional chief executive when Paul vacated the post.

A company spokesman said Mr Rowlinson had now completed a strategic review of the construction and engineering division and was returning to the manufacturing division as divisional operations director.

The group board also announced that Vaughan Burnand had been promoted from managing director to chief executive of Shepherd Construction, reporting directly to Patrick Shepherd.

Mr Burnand has been with Shepherd Construction - the largest business within the Group's construction and engineering division - for 11 years. He has been its MD since November 2000.

The changes take place at a crucial time for the group, with 90 staff preparing to move out of Fulford Moor House as well as a listed building in The Mount, York, into a Yorkon-built complex on its manufacturing site in Jockey Lane, Huntington, by next Monday.

It brings to a final end Shepherd's association with the award-winning four-storey offices which it built at a cost of £4.5 million and was opened by Princess Margaret in 1995.

An administrative shake-up five years ago which decentralised the services of all the Shepherd divisions meant that relatively few people were left in the building to administer group functions.

Fulford Moor House was sold to Total Systems Services Inc (TSYS), the US-based global payment card processor, in December 2000.

Until now the Shepherd Group has temporarily leased offices in one wing, pending the move to Huntington.

Shepherd Development's 37,000 sq ft speculative office development, Stuart House, being built on land behind Fulford Moor House in time for this summer will not be affected by the move.

The listed building in The Mount was the headquarters of Shepherd Homes, which has now submitted an application for renovation and new-build homes on the site.

Detailed planning consent is being sought to provide 22 new homes there.

These consist of converting the existing listed building into six apartments; a building next door will be converted and extended into one detached house; and a new build detached house and 14 new apartments are proposed on the site of what is now the car park.

Updated: 10:25 Tuesday, July 01, 2003