Unfortunately , G.A. is seen as an elitist hobby, because it is!
It can be, it doesn't have to be.
You can rent a spamcan at ~£140/hr (a website at Shoreham shows £107/hr + club membership + landings)
You can buy a £1500 share in a cheap basic aeroplane and fly it for £50/hr - opportunities to do this are easily found at many places.
Neither is a hobby for the destitute, but the second is affordable to most people if they want to fly enough.
But not from a huge and expensive piece of real-estate like Shoreham.
Popham membership is £125/year covering all your landings. A quick google tells me at Popham I could get a C150 share for £2k, then £55/month and £35/hr - so at a sensible minimum of 30 hrs per year, renting at Shoreham would be £4,200, and a share would be ~£3,830 for your first year, and £1,830 for the second and subsequent years (with every chance of getting your £2k back one day).
There are many ways to rework these figures - but if money is an issue, and you want to fly a lot - don't fly from the big high profile airport, and look seriously at a share in something on a permit or private CofA. The big airport and Public CofA do not substantially enhance your flying experience.
It is fair however, why should our hobby be subsidised by the public? But equally, why do we need to fly from a massive lump of tarmac like Shoreham or Cranfield, when much smaller, cheaper, but entirely adequate places are available.
G