AN ADVERTISING blunder over new parking charges has cost the council more than £90,000.

On Friday the Times Series revealed how Barnet Council had printed the wrong charges in statutory notices advertising rises in resident and visitor parking permits.

The increases, with residents’ permits going from £40 to £100, were planned to help raise more than £1m to help plug a hole in the parking revenue account, used to fix potholes in the roads.

But a group of East Finchley residents leading a judicial review on the plans spotted the error in Barnet Council’s advert, which meant the changes could not come into effect from Monday, as planned.

Instead they will be delayed until Monday, April 18, before being introduced, a delay which will cost the council an estimated £93,000 in lost income.

A statement from Barnet Council said the error was compounding problems experienced in spring 2009, when a planned rise in CPZ permits from £40 to £42 was scrapped because of problems processing online orders.

It added: “The public notice used the last official variation of £42, but legal advice has stated we should have advertised at the £40 rate instead. We will be re-advertising this week.”