Repeaters ( Ham) locations and coverage maps

[Paul]

1. is it legal to set up such a device at this time?

Illegal I'm afraid.
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radiocommu...-boosters/

2. Who's going to fund it?

IMO No one in their right mind.
Loss of gear is one thing, a criminal record and / or a fine plus loss of gear and a premises search is enough to discourage me.

3. Is there a real need for it?

IMO No, numbers aren't out there and those that are aren't organized enough to reap any form of benefit.

DTMF access? Sure simple to setup.
We tell some the access code.
That will leak faster than Wikileaks!
Problem is the DTMF code turns the transmitter on and you can't hide that sort of thing. It then becomes child's play to direction find by TPTB or the more horrible bacon membership who would love to "tell tales" about the lesser mortals of life.