I've just read this and loved it. Kingsnorth writes passionately and, where needed, beautifully. Many of us will recognise bits of the picture he paints, but what he does is to bring it (the human impact of the destruction of English localities) alive in a single compelling narrative. You need to read this; and having done so you need to be angry. If you are like me you may also feel strangely drawn to wanting to buy Kingsnorth a pint.
A couple of observations. Part of the solution, he says, is to give local communities power over the matters which affect them, and he finds encouragement in the Government's "community empowerment" initiative. I hope he's right, but it must be doubtful whether the Government will let anything get in the way of national economic performance. The department responsible for community empowerment is also responsible for some of the main agents/engines of economic performance - planning, housing, and "regional development".
Kingsnorth's argument, rightly in my opinion, emphasises the importance of relationship to place in human identity. But relationship to community is also important, and doesn't get a mention. At the same time as place is being destroyed, communities are also being disrupted by the rapid demographic change resulting from increasing mobility and mass immigration. Part of the solution to this may be to rebuild community through sense of place, but this wouldn't sit easily with Kingsnorth's desire for continuity with the past.