to give a bit of help, I was faced with exactly the same, but I was flying rc waterplanes, which brings more complications. I agree, don't take on a war, but become a thorn in their side. The small lake I use was still showing on google earth as a model boat lake. They didn't want me there, but just couldn't come up with a reason, and by their own admission, the thought of setting a new byelaw was too much trouble, so they thought I would just go away, which I didn't.
Things that helped:
I did a risk assessment on the site, and offered the position I would use to launch the models
I offered a compromise, so no IC, no fast stuff etc, no racing, just scale models
I said there would be a cap on numbers ( less than 10)
litter patrol
signage saying rc planes in operation
I even involved the BMFA (British model flying association)!
the agreement was very restrictive, avoiding school hols, no weekends, no bank hols, 9.00am to 3.30pm the big restriction was avoiding the migrating and nesting seasons, I get that, with flying, but if you offer compromise you might get a result