Neighborly tension has escalated in Igueste de Candelaria, specifically on La Capitana street, where a group of residents are fighting to regain access to a path they consider an easement and an agricultural route. The controversy centers on a chain and padlock installed in 2021 by the owner of an adjacent property, with a permit granted by the Candelaria City Council.

The affected parties argue that this path is listed in the deeds of their properties, some dating back to 1964, and is classified as an agricultural road in the current General Urban Planning Plan (PGO). They maintain that the municipal permit is limited to a specific plot and not the entire route, criticizing that the council's decision contradicts its own urban planning criteria. They also state that the council has not responded to their repeated requests for information.

For his part, the Councilor for Urban Planning, Reinaldo Triviño (PSOE), described the license as provisional, meaning temporary and revocable. He explained that while the PGO designates a road in that area, property owners are not obligated to develop it until the plot or adjacent ones are urbanized. He added that a compulsory purchase is not applicable as it is not a green or public service area, and defended the correct issuance of the license after technical review of the file, simplifying the matter as a dispute between neighbors.

Residents such as Andrea Celis, Maite Belaza, Nélida Concepcion, Sergio García, and Antonio Escuela recount the difficulties they face. Those with keys must access their properties by opening the padlock, while Celis and García, a couple, have to carry out agricultural work on their fruit farm without vehicle access. They also report hostile behavior from the property owner, including the throwing of dead cats and damage to fences, and an alternative access proposal via a dangerous ladder and a ravine.

After a year of waiting and facing the lack of a promised expropriation by the mayor Mari Brito (PSOE), the residents initiated legal actions and approached the Diputado del Común without receiving a response. They now await the resolution from the Transparency Commissioner of the Canary Islands, to whom the City Council must respond regarding this case.

The residents suspect that the City Council made a mistake in granting the closure permit and fear that the file will not be reviewed to avoid acknowledging potential errors. They demand a visit from a municipal technician to the site and criticize the absence of a prior consultation period for affected property owners to submit objections before the permit was granted.

The neighbor who installed the chain has declined to comment publicly on the accusations made by her neighbors regarding the path closure.