IWGU and C&B
Sugest you get to know a few of the controllers down here. They are a decent bunch, and mostly very helpful and competent, although I agree we shouldn't be refused circuits so often. I find the flight information service here especially helpful for a civvy airport, with good traffic information thrown in for safety (and offer of a radar fix when I crossed the channel yesterday with no radio aids and they couldn't get a good VDF bearing. Thanks
).
The problem seems to be that there are not enough of them! It may seem small for an international airport, but with 5 commercial training schools, 2 fixed-wing flying clubs, 2 other light-aircraft training companies, a helicopter flying club, an historic flying collection, 2 or 3 aircraft distributors and a couple of maintenance organisations plus short-term aircraft storage it gets very busy. The manning of the tower and radar and the facilities on the airport do not match the workload.
I have flown several hundred hours here, and I love it. Can't think of a better training base. All the complications and facilities of an international airport, yet very GA-friendly (as long as you book in advance, for potential visitors!). Never had any serious gripe with ATC.