I know what your saying but.......
To be honest in my personal opinion Cranfield could be the Biggin Hill of the North. With the M1 now upgraded it has excellent links to North London (Wembley) its basic infrastructure is already in place, it has a fantastic 1800 metre runway and has land for development. You could have a fantastic FBO facility there. Just like NetJets were proposing 24 months ago before the big recession.
All that needs to be done is a change of airport management, a team who wants to develop the airport further and before you know it all the Private Jets will be coming from Luton & Stansted and the old coventry. You can access London as well as the midlands with ease.