Adverse possession of Land

We bought our finca in the Canary Islands 20 years ago and have lived there full time ever since. Between us and a neighbour's property there is a small piece of land which we have continualty cared for, despite the fact that it is not on our Escritura. However, other neighbours insist that although it might not be on the Escritura, it has belonged to and managed by previous owners of our house for as many years as they can remember. The owner that we bought the finca from confirms that he always used the land for planting vegetables and entirely used it without any other interference.
The neighbour adjoining the land is seldom at the house which is their holiday home as they live on another island and have never looked after the land in any way.
However, recently they have asked us to remove the trees we planted 18 years ago, remove the irrigation and remove the access steps we made.
We don't of course feel inclined to do this especially as the trees do not block out their sunlight, change their view or cause a nuisance. 
Does anybody have any thoughts on this please or can let us know where we stand?
Many thanks!
 

Coleen ..I take it that your neighbour is trying  to stake a claim  on this piece of land or maybe they are just being silly...just ask them for proof of ownership  ...and you will  fully  comply with  the request ..ownership  of the land will be on the escutura that they have..if they refuse  to comply  then just ignore them...until they show you proof of ownership. .we had a silly neighbour at my last location that just didn't like  anyone  doing anything to improve their properties  ..she even complained to me when I had the villa repainted..by saying I needed planning permission to do so ...this was of course not true ..when  I checked with  the local council they basically said ..if it was the same  colour no planning permission  was needed...a couple of weeks later she was having her villa repainted and I couldn't help  myself so I asked her if she had planning permission to do so ..LOL.

Hello Coleen

Are you wanting to paint the land? Just because the previous owner of your property illegally trespassed the land it does not give you any right to continue to trespass it. You know this land does not belong to you, so why have you illegally planted trees, installed an irrigation system and built access steps to this land that you know is not yours?

With regard to your neighbours’ objections to your illegal activities on this land, you do not make it clear if they are claiming they legally own the land.

The first thing you need to do is find out is who legally owns this land. You may owe compensation to the legal owner for illegal trespass and modification. 18 years rental of this land could be a considerable sum.

The neighbours who adjoin the said piece of land are not trying to claim it. The piece of land is apparently not know to have an owner and does not have a parcel number, except as a public piece of land. Therefore we have not illegally trespassed at any point. 

It has always been used by previous owners of our finca and handed down through generations. The villagers have said that they would gladly create a petition that they want us to continue using it as they believe it is our right.

So I would just like to know if what the villagers say has any creedence especially bearing in mind that we have cared for it for the past 20 years.

So this is definitely public land owned by the local council. Why have you planted trees, installed an irrigation system and built access steps on this land to your property that you know is public land and belongs to the council?

The previous owners of your property cannot hand down public land that they do not own to anyone, it belongs to the local council.

Your villagers are not councillors and have no authority to grant you or anyone permission to permanently occupy, modify or inhabit public land owned by the local council.