Please sign our petition and stop councillor Lib Dem Brendan Glynane turning our Delapre Abbey into green belt land You would have to have planning permission to even have a park bench if this is aloud to happen our community will suffer.
Town green status would so nothing more than take ownership away from local people This land at Eagle Drive is no where near the Abbey house or the land around it.

 And all the hard work that has been put into raising funds for our community in Richard Butchers memory will go out the window we have now raised £25,783.49p To support the community for a football pitch and club house in memory of Richard who die at the age of 29 in his sleep at home

This story below will tell you a little bit about Richard our website is www.richardbutcherfamilymemorial.com

The phrase "model professional" is a term used far too frequently in the footballing world these days but one person who certainly fitted that bill was Richard butcher who died peacefully in his sleep on 10TH January 2011 at home in Manchester, age 29 years. One of a select band of players to have spent three separate spells as Lincoln City player, Richard first arrived at Sincil Bank in November 2002, making his first outing in a city shirt for the reserves in a 4-1 win over Scarborough. Three days later he made his Football League debut and it soon became apparent that Keith Alexander and his assistant Gary Simpson had unearthed a hugely talented player. Northampton-born Richard started his career as a trainee with his home-town club before he joined Rushden&Diamonds youth set up after a spell with Raunds Town. He went on to appear in both the Hiller Cup and FA Trophy for Diamonds, but only made the bench as an unused substitute in Conference games, Although he signed Professional forms in March 200, he failed to make the first team and was released as Rushden moved into the Football league. with the glamour of the Football League being taken away, many young players in his position would have thrown in the towel and thought that their big chance had gone forever Not Richard He knuckled down, joined Kettering town and became a pivotal member of the poppies" squad which secured the 2001/02 Southern League Premier Division title. His talents hadn’t gone unnoticed be the Lincoln City management team and his chance to make it in the Football League came two months short of his 22nd birthday with messrs Alexander and Simpson unearthing a non-League gem which would certainly go on and sparkle on the Sincil Bank stage. "I think he’s going to be a good addition to the squad", Big Keith at the time in his usual laid back way. Six months later Keith was leading Richard and his team mates out of the tunnel at the Millennium Stadium for the Third Division Play-Off against AFC Bournemouth; a day, albeit one that ended in disappointment, that will never be forgotten by the thousands of City fans present. Richard’s efforts, which included a memorable goal at Bournemouth towards the end of the season, saw him rewarded with one-year extension to his contract. A "chuffed" Butch set himself a target of eight goals for the following season and by the time he was forced on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury, he was one shy of his objective; his long-range effort at Mansfield later being crowed "goal of the season; "I must say that ive never seen so many tears from a grown man in my life as i did on Monday. The treatment room was flooded and water levels reached the changing rooms next door! But Butch was a bit happier later in the week and it was good to see a smile back on his face." read Keith Oakes programme notes as he prepared to keep Richard company for a couple of months or so. An archetypal box-to-box midfielder Richard returned in time for the play-off-semi-final against Huddersfield Town and reached his target of eight for the season when he netted the opening goal of the heartbreaking 2-2 second leg draw against Peter Jackson’s side in front of 20,000 spectators at the McAlpine stadium. Although the goals dried up the following season, Richard had the proud honour of playing every minute of every match as he helped the Club reach the play-offs for the third successive year and with the Final against Southend United being his 123rd first team appearance for City he decided to head for pastures new, penning a two-year deal with Oldham Athletic. Sadly for Richard, things didn’t work out for him at Oldham Athletic in October he was back at sincil bank for a months-long spell on loan; 100th League start and rifling home a scorching volley at Leyton Orient during his brief time back in a Lincoln shirt. He returned to Oldham and completed the rest of the season making 39 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals. Richard later followed Big Keith to Peterborough United before netting 18 times in two seasons for Nott’s County. He weighed in with some important goals during his time at Meadow Lane, including one that preserved county’s Football League status and following his release be the Magpies, in stepped City boss Peter Jackson who made Butch his first signing the summer of 2009 A change in management at sincil Bank, saw first team opportunities become limited and a bid to get some match action under his belt, he was allowed to link up with Keith at Macclesfield Town. He scored on his Town debut in a 2-1 win over Bury but the Footballing world was reeling from the news that Keith had passed away at the age of 53. Returning to sincil Bank, Richard last outing in a red and white striped shirt came, somewhat poignantly, as a substitute against Macclesfield on the final day of the season, before an emotional return to Gary Simpson’s Silkmen on a permanent basis a couple of weeks later. He was a credit to us his family he was a credit to his profession and, to put it simply, was a very nice guy. He wasn’t a bad footballer either. We are so very proud of you Richard xxxxxxx. Kind Regards Richards Mum Mrs. G Butcher

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