I reckon if you walked about with lures you'd meet plenty of other lure anglers. I certainly do. Every so often I'll walk past a bivvy too, or a row of people I always assume are match anglers. But lure angling is by far the newest of the methods. Hence I say its growing quickly.
Many of the customers at Farmoor had taken to casting out and then setting the rod down in the manner of bait fishermen. The result? New rule tat rod must be held at all times. Banning half your customers because their fly fishing isnt pure enough hardly seems like "supporting regular, reliable income" to me. More like some bizarre cult throwing out non believers.
Believe me I do my fair share of roving on the river (which is thriving with Pike, Perch, Zander and Chub) and I just don't meet, as a general rule and accepting a handful over the years, lure anglers.
This whole lure thing to me is a bit of a fad, I went into it at one time especially when the dropshotting thing was all the rage and I've abandoned it both on the basis of disappointing results and I didn't really enjoy the method.
Having been in business for a considerable time throughout my life the one thing I can vouch for is that you look after and protect your regular income streams, which ties in with the earlier fad comment.
I guess, without a crystal ball, nobody knows but swapping uncertainty for certainty is never a good thing in financial terms.
Are there not other waters that you could fish and leave Farmoor to do what they are entitled to?
Maybe it's better to look for a viable alternative than trying to change the world and upset the present status quo, it's often that way for a reason.