Peel Holdings is a successful property company who've invested millions to make millions, and profit margin is always their bottom line.
I've no idea what price they're asking for the lease at Barton, but it would be unrealistic to expect them to let it go for less than the market rate.
This has been on the cards for a number of years, and the directors at Barton Aero Club have always known that unless they actually bought the land themselves, they'd always have a landlord breathing down their necks.
I can only assume that when the opportunity arose to purchase the aerodrome, for whatever reason, said directors decided it would be cheaper to carry on leasing (or maybe they stuck their head in the sand?), rather than put an investment package together and buy it outright.
Anyway, that's water under the bridge, and I agree that what remains is a very sad, confusing and sorry mess.
Perhaps now would be a good time for British Aeropace to be a little bit more proactive with G.A. at Woodford.