Off topic but in Europe, including the UK, some gliding sites are
"winch only" for planning or noise reasons. However the
primary reason that many other clubs have winches is that
winching is cheap compared to EU aerotow costs.

If the aerotow costs are high enough you can don rose
coloured spectacles and use man-maths to show that even
self-launchers make economic sense.

I fly at Sisteron, French Alps, each aerotow would be 50-60€,
minimum, tow a bit further/higher and the cost can be 80€
plus. Take 40 launches a year = ~2400€.
Dave Walsh