Community sports clubs and societies claim they have been left in the cold since the opening of the Ashburton Learning Village.

They claim they are being excluded by a lack of facilities and a hike in the charges made by the school.

The Addiscombe Corinthians football team, a local netball team and a dance school said they have been forced out since the school was taken over by a private company.

Jarvis Plc signed a contract with Croydon Council in May 2004 to build and maintain Ashburton Learning Village in a deal worth more than £60million.

The private finance initiative project was completed in 2006 after work began on the school's site in Shirley Road, Croydon, in June 2004.

The initiative has come under criticism for pushing local teams out, even though the centre marketed itself as a community facility.

Gordon Neaves, secretary of the Addiscombe Corinthians, said: "A number of people have had problems with Jarvis - there are many people who have not got their teams or clubs back in the school since the work was completed. They are just not interested in the community."

The Corinthians has 11 teams for children between 10 and 18. They previously booked pitches with Croydon Council.

But when the redevelopment of the school began, the responsibility switched to Jarvis.

Mr Neaves added: "We were aware there was a possibility that we could lose it if we didn't keep our eye on the ball, so I tried to keep in touch with events. We did have a meeting with Jarvis in April and we agreed what it was that we needed."

Mr Neaves said he became concerned when he had not heard anything from the school and contacted them about their agreement.

"I was choked when we lost out because we wanted to expand the club to cater for the local kids so we actually wanted more facilities, not less."

As the Croydon Guardian went to press, Mr Neaves was due to meet with Jarvis staff based at the school.

It is thought they are making every effort to make the pitches available for him from next September.

He added: "Negotiations are ongoing and at the moment they are trying to help us. We are optimistic that we will be back at the school next year. But as yet we have nothing in black and white."

A spokesman for Jarvis said: "We have endeavoured from the start to meet Mr Neaves' needs.

"We offered him a 20 per cent discount but he failed to confirm the booking. We have made every effort to provide him with what he needed.

"He will be sharing the all weather pitch on a Tuesday from tonight and he has expressed interest in other facilities."

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