Saved - David Hewson

It was meant to be a done deal. In the winter of 2005 the historic Kent village of Wye discovered it was about to disappear under a sea of new housing and commercial development deal brokered in secret by its own councils and a huge London university. Ten months later the GBP1 billion dream to concrete over some of England's best loved and protected countryside was dead, killed by some astonishing revelations on a GBP10 web-site run by two local residents in their spare time. "Saved" is a highly personal, warts-and-all history of one of the biggest environmental victories in recent years. Told by bestselling author David Hewson, this is a biting, controversial and entertaining account of the campaign and the individuals who brought this massive scheme crashing to earth. With a foreword by the leading media commentator Roy Greenslade, "Saved" is a glimpse into the inner workings of 21st century Britain, and a revelatory account of how the power and instant communication facilities of the internet can change the face of modern democracy. It makes essential reading for anyone who fears for the future of the English countryside and its communities, and those who need to know how Wye succeeded where so many other campaigns have failed.