DISCUSSIONS are taking place over the future of North Yorkshire's Castle Howard, following reports that Simon Howard and his family may be leaving the historic home.

In a statement today (Sunday, November 23) the Howard family said they were having ongoing discussions about the "current and future plans for Castle Howard” after reports Simon and his wife Rebecca may have to move out of the 145-room residence.

A Sunday newspaper claimed Simon’s elder brother, Nicholas, had indicated he wished to move into the 18th century building with his wife Victoria Barnsley, who last year stepped down from her job as CEO of publishers HarperCollins. She was appointed to the board of the Castle Howard Estate Ltd earlier this year.

The company owns the house and estate, with Simon as its chairman and managing director.

The report claimed that several weeks ago he was asked to step down as chairman of the board which runs Castle Howard, or face being outvoted by the directors of the private company.

Simon Howard has run the 18th Century baroque home for 30 years, having lived in the residence his whole life. He took over the running of the estate from his elder brother Henry, who died in 2008. He currently lives in a wing of the property with his wife Rebecca and their 12-year-old twins Octavia and Merlin. For most of this year the 58-year-old has been battling throat cancer.

It is believed he has just completed a precautionary seven-week course of radiation therapy and is now believed to have beaten the disease.

Rebecca, 47, once worked as a researcher for royal historian Hugo Vickers and is descended from the Sieff family who founded Marks & Spencer.

The couple have been working hard to turn the turn the large estate into a highly successful visitor attraction, which has won numerous industry awards.

A statement issued by Castle Howard today said: "After a newspaper piece today, all the family would like to say is that they are having discussions about current and future plans for Castle Howard and that these discussions are ongoing."

Castle Howard has been home to the Howard family for more than 300 years. The house is set within 1,000 acres of landscaped parkland in the Howardian Hills between York and Malton and is now attracts 250,000 visitors a year.

It was the setting for the 1980s television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited starring Jeremy Irons and in 2008 was the setting of the film version, starring Emma Thompson and Ben Whishaw.