The residents of a tiny town in central Queensland say local sports clubs will struggle to survive if the council starts charging them for work they have already been doing for free.

Key points: Currently there is no fee for clubs and the school to use the local oval, with volunteers cleaning up and mowing

Currently there is no fee for clubs and the school to use the local oval, with volunteers cleaning up and mowing The local council is planning to start charging clubs to use the oval

The local council is planning to start charging clubs to use the oval Sports clubs are worried they will not be able to carry the cost

Currently clubs and the school in Rolleston, which has a population of about 300, can head down to the town's oval, flick on the lights and use the field, pretty much whenever they want, for free.

Central Highlands Regional Council covers the cost of power, water, and waste removal, while individual clubs take care of the mowing and cleaning up of the grounds — but that could be about to change.

"We have had meetings with [the council and] we have been told that all of the costs on this facility, the club will need to pay for," said Rolleston Cricket Club member Cameron Gibson.

"That is a real concern within us and within the community, because it takes a lot of money to maintain this facility.

"Being such a small rural area, we believe that it's going to be very draining on the whole community and the clubs will fold because they will not have the resources to maintain the oval at its current stance."

Mr Gibson has played sport on the oval for the past 27 years and now his own children are doing the same.

"For a small community here in Rolleston, [with] approximately 68 kids in the school, sport is everything for them," he said.

"People have put a lot of hours and a lot of energy — blood, sweat and tears, you could say — into [the facility] and you could lose the whole thing.

"That's the hard part — not knowing what's going to be there for our kids, the kids of the future."

Volunteers have put hours of their time into the Rolleston oval over many years. ( ABC Capricornia: Erin Semmler )

Fair play?

The local council is set to implement an initiative designed to progress sport in the Central Highlands region known as 'Game Plan'.

The plan, which council wants to have finalised by December, would see the clubs and school paying to use the grounds, with the fee then used by council to pay for cleaning and mowing.

Central Highlands Game Plan committee chair Alan McIndoe said the Game Plan's policy on land tenure agreements was finalised in December 2018.

Most of the 68 kids at the local school have grown up playing sport at the Rolleston Community Oval. ( ABC Capricornia: Erin Semmler )

"Since then, we've gone about communicating with our community members in all our regions," he said.

"From there we started to roll-out a licensing agreement, which replaces the lease agreement."

By the community, for the community

Junior rugby coach Rohan Burrows has been in Rolleston almost 30 years.

"We helped turf the original bit, we've done our duties in the canteen, on the oval playing sports, just helping out wherever we can," he said.

Springsure junior athlete Tyler Crook dodges a tackle on the Rolleston oval. ( Supplied: Kristy Gibson )

"[The oval is] part of the community fabric — it's built by community, it's played on by community and the entertainment here, the crowds that come up … it's really supported by community."

His wife, Sophie Burrows, said the field was a central meeting point for the community.

"The oval is incredible and it's a real asset to the community, just to keep people active and socialising," she said.

"It's not only good for physical wellbeing but emotional and mental wellbeing as well.

"Coming together in a rural community with things like drought and other challenges, it's really important to a community to have a space to come together."

'Scary' for clubs, says volunteer

Volunteer Kristy Gibson hopes a common-sense agreement will be made between the club and the council.

"With what we originally were told, we were going to have to pay as a club [and] it was really scary," she said.

"It would mean the instant closing of our clubs.

"I think, as time goes on and more and more clubs sign up, council's getting more feedback and they're addressing things as they progress through it.

"Hopefully by the time they get to us, they've got all the kinks ironed out and it'll be easier for us."

Mr McIndoe said council is open to negotiation and that more consultation would be taking place.

"People initially thought the Game Plan was going to burden clubs in a lot of aspects and through consultation with communities," he said.

"We've been able to transform or change the direction of the Game Plan to better suit communities.

"Game Plan is not about burdening clubs at all — over and above what they've already or always have done."

Cameron and Kristy Gibson are concerned about the future of the Rolleston Community Oval. ( ABC Capricornia: Erin Semmler )

Initiatives to help clubs

Local Government Association Queensland (LGAQ) spokesman Craig Johnstone said Queensland councils invested about $700 million a year into sport and recreation.

"It does vary from council to council and situation to situation, but generally sporting and community clubs pay for the use of water and power as part of their lease arrangement with councils," Mr Johnstone said.

"When you compare that with the other two levels of government, councils are far and away the biggest investors in sport and recreation.

"They take very seriously their obligation to maintain and invest in these facilities on behalf of community and sporting clubs."

Mr Johnstone said clubs could seek additional support from local governments in other areas including community grants.

"There is an insurance scheme sponsored by local government that helps cut the public liability insurances costs of a lot of these clubs," he said.

"The LGAQ has a service which might provide clubs with some savings in terms of electricity costs, called Energy Detective.