Thanks all. mildred I think you're right in making it clear that I have understood everything fully. I met with midwife who leads the vbacs a while back had a really honest chat with her when I hopefully demonstrated I was pretty well informed and clued up on this, and she totally seemed to appreciate my thoughts, so I just hope I can get the consultant (and my new community midwife) to treat me like an informed adult in the way she did!
I totally get that c-sections are major surgery and have lots of associated risks which are understandably scary to lots of people, but having had one last time (which was absolutely not part of my initial birth plan, which was very much midwife led, hypnobirthing etc), I have actually been left with a very positive experience of c-sections, so I am much more keen to go down the 'better the devil you know' route, as if I was to have a vbac, most of the "natural" options I originally wanted last time would be off limits.
The prospect of a medicalised vaginal birth, with constant monitoring, no access to pools etc, makes me very wary as this to me, knowing the way I sometimes respond to stressful situations (which a constantly monitored labour would be, in comparison to a straightforward natural labour), is more likely to end in an emcs. If I can avoid the emergency c-section by planning it up front, I think it makes a lot more sense.