THE new radical, left-wing mayor of Madrid wants to turn the capital’s most exclusive golf course into an urban farm.
Manuel Carmena, of Podemos-backed Ahora Madrid, has made the Club de Campo, on the bank of the Manzanares river, a symbolic target for the country’s political reform.
She believes that because the golf course stands on land belonging to the city, it should be made of use for everyone, instead of merely ‘serving the interests of a few’.
It is currently a members-only club with a waiting list of thousands and a one-off joining fee of €3,000, while non-members cannot even walk through its gates free-of-charge.
The Royal Equestrian Society is a major shareholder in the club, while King Felipe’s eldest sister, Elena de Borbon, keeps some of her horses at the adjoining equestrian centre.
The proposal to turn the golf course into a public farm-school originated from a popular idea posted in Ahora Madrid’s online forum for citizens.
Carmena’s manifesto aims to ‘create centres of environmental education and urban gardens’.
