The Socialist Municipal Group has denounced the opening of a wide dirt track in the vicinity of Quinta Verde, a Cultural Heritage Site, without authorization. The works, carried out by the builder on its own initiative, have altered the landscape of terraces and the thermophilic forest.
The PSOE of Santa Cruz de La Palma has focused on what it considers an illegal urban intervention in the heart of the city's historical heritage. According to the municipal group, a construction company has opened a wide dirt track in the vicinity of Quinta Verde, a space protected as a Cultural Heritage Site (BIC). The work, which was not included in the technical project tendered by the City Council, has caused severe alteration to the traditional landscape of terraces and the remnant thermophilic forest that characterizes this historic suburban estate.
A track that was not in the plans
The socialist councillor Manuel Garrido was the one who uncovered the issue during the last plenary session. When questioning the Government Group (PP-CC) about the legality of the intervention, Garrido pointed out that the new access does not appear in the approved technical project. "This track was not projected by anyone from the City Council," stated the councillor, who demanded explanations from the government team.
The response from the councillor for Strategic Projects, Juan José Cabrera Guelmes (PP), only increased the controversy. Cabrera acknowledged before the plenary that the builder acted "on its own initiative" and admitted his surprise upon discovering that the track had already been executed without any municipal oversight. "The company got ahead of itself, and we found out when it was already done," declared the popular councillor.
A BIC that does not allow shortcuts
Quinta Verde is not just any space. Its legal protection extends not only to the main building but to its entire perimeter, historically designed as a unique urban estate. Any earth-moving, no matter how minimal, requires a binding report and express authorization from the Insular Commission of Historical Heritage. "We are facing a matter of extreme administrative gravity," Garrido has reminded.
The Socialist Group has emphasized that "allowing a private company to unilaterally alter a highly protected land, without an approved project and in the face of the passivity of public officials, is a flagrant illegality that this City Council cannot condone." The party has urged the local government to immediately halt any actions in the area and to open a sanctioning file.
The precedent of the previous mandate
The socialists have wanted to reclaim "the institutional rigor" with which this space was managed in the previous mandate. Then, according to the PSOE, any intervention in the BIC was subjected to the necessary controls. "Now, with the current government, the heritage protection has been called into question," lamented Garrido.
For the residents of Santa Cruz de La Palma, the news comes as a cold shower. Quinta Verde is a symbol of the city, a green lung that many stroll through on weekends. That a dirt track, intended for trucks, has disrupted the profile of the terraces and dismantled part of the thermophilic forest is not only an attack against the law but against the collective memory of the island. It remains to be seen whether the City Council will act with the urgency required by a BIC or if, as the socialists fear, the matter will dissolve into reports and timelines.
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