Guargacho Residents Blocked from Garages for a Year, Still Charged Fees

For nearly a year, residents on at least four streets in Guargacho, San Miguel de Abona, have been unable to use their garages because of ongoing public works. The PSOE party is now highlighting this issue after hearing complaints from those affected. Adding to their frustration, these residents are still being charged for driveway access permits.

Residents describe the streets in Guargacho as "closed." The PSOE is questioning the "unjustifiable delays and endless construction," pointing to several examples: Camilo José Cela street has been closed for a full year, Benito Pérez Galdós remains blocked, Rosalía de Castro is still under construction eight months after work began, even though its completion deadline passed last July, and Hermanos Álvarez Quintero street has been stalled for months. Despite these prolonged disruptions, the Town Hall has continued to collect driveway access fees as usual, even though residents couldn't get in or out of their own garages.

The PSOE in San Miguel de Abona has publicly criticized Coalición Canaria for "once again failing the residents of Guargacho." They rejected a proposal from the PSOE to refund the portion of the driveway access fee for those who haven't been able to use their garages for months due to sanitation works.

During a council meeting, socialist councilwoman Érika Sánchez Quintero emphasized that this is a matter of "justice and legality, not favors." She stated that the Local Tax Law is clear: if a right cannot be used due to circumstances beyond a resident's control, a refund is owed. She added that in this case, people have been paying for a right they couldn't exercise for months.

Sánchez Quintero explained that while the local ordinance doesn't cover this specific situation in Guargacho, Article 26.3 of the Consolidated Text of the Law on Local Treasury Regime does. It states that "When, for reasons not attributable to the taxpayer, the right to use public domain cannot be exercised, the corresponding amount shall be refunded."

The municipal government did not support the PSOE's proposal. Their vote against the request for partial refunds for those affected means residents' right to claim their money back is not being recognized. It also prevents the establishment of a clear and simple refund process and fair compensation for those who have endured disruptions, noise, dust, lengthy construction, and the inability to access their homes for over a year.

The PSOE San Miguel de Abona "deeply regrets" that local authorities are "denying a basic right and making residents bear the cost of poor municipal management." Érika Sánchez insists that "residents don't want promises, they want action. They deserve to be refunded for what they paid for but couldn't use" over the past year, in many instances.