Revised plans to build affordable homes on an estate in East Finchley have been approved following a U-turn on previous proposals to build on green spaces.

Barnet Council’s housing arm, Barnet Homes, has won permission to build 16 affordable homes between existing blocks at Grange Estate – a six-acre residential area to the west of the High Road and south of the North Circular.

A previous version of the plans, which would have seen flats built on green spaces at Brownswell Road and Tarling Road to provide 43 homes, sparked anger among local residents who warned they would lose much-loved play and recreation areas.

The plans were subsequently scaled back to provide 16 homes for London Affordable Rent. Eight of these homes will be built in a three-storey block on a car park between Willow House and Craven House in Central Avenue. The other eight will be built in a four-storey block between Hilton House and East View House next to the High Road.

Although the green spaces have been saved, residents continued to express concern over the potential impact of the plans on traffic and parking in the already-congested local streets. The two schemes, which were presented to a meeting of the council’s strategic planning committee on Wednesday, received a combined total of 79 objections.

Angela Donkin, representing Elmfield Road Residents’ Association, urged councillors to open new access routes into Grange Estate. She told the planning committee that although residents were not against affordable housing, they were concerned about more congestion and traffic in the single-lane road.

Under questioning from councillors, Angela said there had been incidents of road rage during rush hour as people struggled to access the narrow streets.

Richard Bradshaw, who lives in Elmfield Road, said the traffic plans submitted for the scheme were “lacking” and “ignorant”, adding that the additional housing would worsen existing parking and congestion problems.

Another local resident, Ruth Bradshaw, said people on the estate wanted more affordable housing, but added: “It has to be in the context of how they get in and out of that space, how they circulate and how they get to their homes, because otherwise it is a pointless exercise”.

Alex Kitts, a planning consultant acting on behalf of Barnet Homes, said surveys had shown there was “sufficient capacity on the estate to accommodate additional parking” and that the new developments “will not result in any additional stress to the highway network”.

He added: “Any deferral will result in the loss of £1.6million of grant funding [from the Greater London Authority], given the timeframes associated with this. The decision is therefore critical to delivering these much-needed homes in the borough.”

Under questioning from councillors, Alex said Barnet Homes was “committed to continue to engage with residents” and take their comments on board.

After discussing the proposals, members of the committee agreed to add a requirement for continued dialogue and consultation with residents to address their traffic and parking concerns. The residents who spoke during the meeting assured councillors that solutions to the problems could be found.

Both planning applications were unanimously approved by members of the committee.