<p>John Allan, chairman of Barratt, is to step down “at the request of the board”, following allegations made against him.</p> <p>Allan will leave his posts as chair of the board and a director of the volume housebuilder on June 30. Caroline Silver, who, it was announced in January, would become a non-executive director and chair designate from June 1, will take over as chair and of the nomination committee upon Allan’s departure. This was originally scheduled for September 6.</p> <p>In a statement, Barratt said the board believed it was in the company’s “best interests” to bring forward the planned board changes “to prevent the ongoing impact of the allegations against John from becoming disruptive to the company”. </p> <p>It also stated that it had not received any complaints about Allan during his time at the company.</p> <p>Jock Lennox, Barratt’s senior independent director, said: “The board is grateful to John for his nine years of service to Barratt. He leaves the company in a strong financial and operational position, continuing to perform well in challenging market conditions."</p>