A PROFIT sharing scheme with supermarket chain Waitrose has netted a super windfall of almost £200,000 for West Devon Borough Council.

The £199,051 has come to the council following a turnover bonus at the Waitrose store in Okehampton.

The council says the money will be ploughed back into major improvements across the borough.

Four years ago, the council leased out an Okehampton car park to Waitrose and the new supermarket was built on the Market Street site.

At the time of the sale, a profit sharing agreement was drawn up between the authority and Waitrose were the store to trade really well in any one year. Thanks to a bumper year trading between April 2002 and April 2003, the borough council has netted a healthy dividend. Okehampton Town Council as the other landowner will also receive a bonus of approximately £50,000.

Cllr Dick Eberlie, chairman of the borough council?s policy and resources committee, said: ?This is very good news. We are delighted Waitrose is doing so well in Okehampton and we are lucky to have such a go-ahead and friendly firm there.

?This is an excellent example of how we can work closely in partnership with the private sector to deliver one of the council?s most important priorities ? that of improving the economic prosperity of the borough.?

Deputy chief executive, David Inman said he was pleased with the success Waitrose had enjoyed in Okehampton and said the bonus was not necessarily a one-off.

?It is possible that if Waitrose trade as well as it has done last year again, we will get further bonuses,? he said.

?We want to see Waitrose trading well in Okehampton. Waitrose brings people into Okehampton who might not normally come into the town and brings a knock-on benefit,? he added.

Christine Marsh, mayor of Okehampton welcomed the announcement of the £50,000 boost to the town council?s coffers: ?It is great because it will help us maybe realise some projects we might not have had enough money for before.

?One of the possibilities is looking at reinstating the paddling pool in the park or other projects that would benefit the town.?

John Webb, manager of Okehampton Waitrose, said: ?Waitrose is committed to working with the community it serves and we are delighted that we can contribute in this way.?

The Waitrose development has formed a major part of the regeneration of Okehampton, which has been a key priority for West Devon Council over the last four years.

The authority, working alongside Okehampton Town Council, Devon County Council and a specially created Regeneration Group, has introduced a package of measures ? funded by the Waitrose receipt ? to make the town more attractive to visitors and residents alike.

Improvements include street lighting, banners, historic symbols, improved paving surfaces, widened pavements, defined pedestrian crossing points, historic information, new seating, paved areas, tree planting, floodlighting and new footpath links.

West Devon has also rebuilt public toilets in the Fairplace area of the town at a cost of £120,000. They opened earlier this year.

And work has begun on a £4.2-million state-of-the-art sports centre in Okehampton following West Devon?s successful Sports Lottery bid for £3.2-million. Again the Waitrose money has been used to provide the majority of local funding.

The scheme is the biggest ever undertaken by the borough council and includes a four-lane 25-metre traditional swimming pool, a competition sports hall and separate fitness and aerobic studios. The Parklands Centre is expected to open next summer.