A row of 29 garages to the rear of Chingford Mount Road will be torn down and replaced with a two-storey and three-storey building, each comprising four flats.
Some 86 residents lodged formal objections against the scheme, while more than 100 signed a petition.
Around a dozen were in attendance for the planning committee meeting last night on July 8, where it was passed by three votes to two.
One resident, living in nearby Field Close, told the committee it was “clear overdevelopment”.
She said the new buildings would “sit awkwardly between existing homes” and “disrupt [the area’s] existing character”.
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The scheme was also criticised by Conservative councillor Catherine Saumarez, who said eight homes was a “large number” for a street where people “live in close proximity” with one another.
An officer from the council’s planning department said people’s privacy would be maintained through screens blocking the view into residents’ gardens and detailed construction plans would be produced in a bid to mitigate noise, dust and congestion on the roads.
The scheme had been in the pipeline since 2021 and developer Landview Holdings has held “many meetings” with the planning team, a representative said.
He said respect for neighbours and good design had been “carefully considered”.
He said change may be “difficult to accept” but the country needed to meet the Labour government’s target of building 1.5million new homes by 2029. He added the lane was a “prime example” of brownfield land.
While some felt it was overdevelopment, Tory councillor John Moss said the development did not “maximise [the area’s potential]”.
He said the council was “actually stymieing” further development and said up to 16 terrace houses could fit in the lane, which was more in line with the town hall’s wider ambitions for more housing.
Labour councillor Keith Rayner unsuccessfully lobbied for disabled parking to be provisionally added to the car-free development, warning it may be difficult for disabled people to either live there or visit.
He said the option should be there if residents need to designate one in the future.
However, it could be “difficult to implement” and was not a “practical” suggestion, according to Justin Carr, the assistant director of building control.
Councillor Jenny Gray, chair of the committee, said the future “isn’t in our control”.
Waltham Forest is in the midst of a worsening housing crisis, top councillors say, and the shortage of homes is putting an increasing strain on the council’s coffers.
By 2035, the town hall intends to see 27,000 new homes built as part of its Local Plan.
They will be spread across new housing estates and tower blocks, some of which have proven controversial with prospective neighbours and environmental campaigners.
Of those 27,000, a total of 1,660 homes will be situated outside the designated ‘strategic locations’ already identified by the council.
Housing applications are rarely outright refused by the planning committee.
