Woman who flouted planning laws to rent out illegally on greenbelt land jailed and fined

Tracie Carter, 52, flouted planning laws to put up six stables and a plush mobile home on her land, despite having been refused planning permission in 2004.

Planning chiefs said it was “evident” she lived in the home and also clear she was renting out the equine facilities to a third party.

In November 2022, after having previously being convicted at court in her absence, Carter was ordered to tear down the buildings in the village of Alvechurch, Worcestershire, and pay the £167,378 fine.

But instead, glamorous pictures posted on her Facebook page showed she had splashed out on foreign holidays and nights out with friends.

Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court gave Carter a 12-month suspended sentence last November, to give her a final chance to pay the fine.

But the prison term was activated last month by District Judge Ian Strongman, who said he was not

satisfied all efforts had been made to make the payment.

The illegal buildings built by Carter include a mobile home with decking for residential use, a large stable block, menage, hay store, fencing and gates and access for vehicles.

Photos show a single-storey home with a cream pebble-dash exterior and black-framed bay windows.

Plant pots and shrubbery framed the front door of the property, which was ringed by decorative lighting and surrounded by an overgrown garden.

A sign outside reads “Aqueduct Stables”, after the name of the lane it is on, which is near the M42 and 10 miles from the centre of Birmingham.

Meanwhile six horses were seen at the property.

When planning permission was initially refused, Bromsgrove councillors said it was an “inappropriate development in the green belt” and would “unacceptably harm the openness”.

Worcestershire regulatory services chief, Simon Wilkes, said: “The council will not tolerate breaches of notices. Officers will continue to work with WRS to ensure planning decisions are adhered to.”