A plan to build an extra 217 homes on a 1960s housing estate will go ahead after councillors backed the scheme.

An ‘infill development’ at Fosters Estate in Hendon will see six more tower blocks up to seven storeys high built in-between the existing flats.

The scheme will provide 50 per cent affordable housing, some of which will be ‘extra-care’ accommodation designed to help older people live independently.

Barnet Council received nearly 300 letters objecting to the plans, which were discussed at a planning committee meeting on Thursday (October 10).

Hendon resident Emily Benedek told the committee: “The impact of the new units will have tremendous ramifications for the surrounding area.

“There is significant pressure on existing local services such as doctors’ surgeries and schools, which are already oversubscribed.

“There’s no question that the surrounding roads cannot cope with the additional vehicles created by the uplift of units.”

Ms Benedek added it would lead to a loss of privacy for those in surrounding streets.

But a spokesperson for the applicant, Barnet Council, said: “Fosters Estate is a great opportunity to achieve the council’s objectives.

“Every decision, on every tricky issue, was taken with the community steering group and discussed with the wider public who came to our workshops and open events.”

She claimed some of the estate would be made safer because it will be turned into a car-free zone, while improvements will be made to the existing buildings.

The spokesperson added the density of the development “sits right in the middle of the appropriate range”.

Barnet Council says introducing permit parking at the estate will reduce traffic problems, which are mainly caused by non-residents leaving their cars on the estate.

Members of the planning committee voted unanimously for the scheme to be approved.