When the going gets tough, keep going.

Despite all our fears and the warnings from everyone with experience of panel decisions, the pre-panel meeting led to a decision in our favour.  We knew that we had a really strong case, but had prepared ourself for the worst.   The panel agreed that although there may be some concerns from our past, they needed much more information to make a decision. 
We still have some way to go before we are finally approved, but it feels like we have taken a huge step forward today. :)