Our battle to ensure transparency and fair play over plans to build an Eco-town in Rossington, led to the Rossington Community Newsletter being shortlisted for Britain's most prestigious campaigning journalism award.

And our nomination for the Paul Foot Award for Campaigning Journalism, 2008, all but brought the house down, at London's Millbank Press Centre, when we appeared in the final.

It came amid a record entry of more than 80 contenders for the award, set up by Private Eye magazine, and the Guardian newspaper, in memory of ace investigative journalist Paul Foot.

To huge cheers, TV celebrity and Private Eye editor Ian Hislop introduced the Newsletter's efforts.

He told the gathering of leading journalists: "Footy would have loved this one.

"This team got to the news before any of the nationals – a long time before, in fact – about the planned Eco-town plans for the village of Rossington.

"On almost no resources, Jim and his team went that extra mile".

He added: "Finally, when the nationals twigged that the Eco-towns situation would affect the whole of Britain, the Rossington Community Newsletter was already there. It is a truly terrific achievement".

The Newsletter was the only publication based outside London, to make it to the final.

Among those who failed to get onto the shortlist were journalists from the Guardian, Independent, Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times.

The final took place on November 3 – where we lined up against heavyweight opposition from The Times, The Observer, Private Eye, The Times Educational Supplement and The Evening Standard, whose entry featured the work of former BBC Gulf War investigator Andrew Gilligan.

The award was ultimately won jointly – by Camilla Cavendish of The Times, for a campaign against miscarriages of justice carried out under the Children's Act 1989, and Private Eye's Richard Brooks for stories investigating the Government's involvement with fund management company Actis.