The applicant, Mr John Bryan, is a farmer and contractor in the United Kingdom. On 4 December 1989, an enforcement notice was issued and served on Mr Bryan by the Vale Royal Borough Council requiring the demolition of two brick buildings on land which the applicant had bought in 1987. The enforcement noticed recited that there appeared to the Council to be a breach of planning control in that the two brick buildings had been erected without the necessary planning permission. The notice required the applicant to demolish the buildings and remove the building materials within three months.
The applicant called the High Court to reject the Council decision to destroy his property. The European Court of Human Rights concluded that there had been no violation of Article 6 § 1 (the right to a fair trial).
