The company in charge of a popular lunchtime club for children has assured parents it will remain open despite funding problems.

Mytime Active, leisure service provider for Bromley Council, sparked fears among users of the One O’Clock Club in Crystal Palace Park after announcing it was considering plans to sub-let the management of the club to another company.

Parents received a letter from Bromley Mytime stating it no longer had enough money to sustain the club in its existing form.

It said it also needed additional investment to bring the club’s dilapidated building, which is owned by Bromley Council, up to modern standards.

More than 200 people have signed a petition to keep the club open after club user Henrietta Barker started a campaign to save it.

Ms Barker, 32, from East Dulwich, who attends twice weekly with her three-year-old son Benedict, said members were keen to maintain the club’s current set-up, despite the company’s plans for modernisation.

She said: “The club is a delightful place and the people who work there make everyone feel welcome. People find it a real haven.”

Tom Papworth, Crystal Palace councillor for Bromley Council, said: “At a time when the Tories are threatening to close other childcare provisions, parents will rely ever more heavily on private providers such as the One O’Clock Club.”

Mytime Active has now promised users there will still be a provision for children under five and the centre will not be taken over by a private nursery.

Investment applications are being accepted until February 3. A final decision on its future management is expected around Easter.

Sign the group’s petition here.