At a council meeting tonight councillors voted seven votes to three to allow the revised plans to go ahead.
The plans were submitted by the club after the original scheme was narrowly thrown out two months ago, mostly because of concerns over the height of the seven-storey block.
The club's architects have now taken out one storey and dropped down the penthouse suites so the block is now six storeys.
The club insists that the block must include a minimum of 147 apartments in order for the scheme to raise enough funds to pay for the £10 million makeover of the cricket ground.
But residents remained concerned about a lack of parking spaces. Not every apartment will have a dedicated space.
If the plans had been thrown out, the upgrade couldn't have gone ahead and it would have spelled the end of top-class cricket in Bristol.
The lowering of the block means that an extension will have to be built at the Kennington Road end to accommodate ten apartments. The other two homes will be included in the main block.
The council's planning officers recommended approval for the revised plans.
They said it would be a finely balanced decision but councillors should give their consent.
They also recommended approval for the original scheme, which did not get planning permission. Not everyone will be happy with tonight's decision.
Many parents at Ashley Down primary school believe the new block would still overshadow the playground despite the lower height.
But the planning officers say in their report to councillors that: "Given the limited times of the shadowing cast over the school, this proposal would not be sufficient grounds to cause unacceptable harm to the users of the school and should not be a reason to refuse this application."
A pressure group called Howzat which has been fighting the plans said that little has changed since the previous scheme was refused.
They claimed the changes are insufficient for the council to grant planning permission.
But the planning officers say in their report: "Whilst it is considered that this revised scheme would still cause harm to the setting of the Conservation Area and listed buildings, it is judged to be a better scheme overall than the previous one and would have slightly less harm then previously identified."
They conclude: "On the basis of the viability case, it is (still) considered that, on balance, greater weight should be given to the needs of the cricket club than the objections made to this proposal."
Tom Richardson, the club's chief executive, has insisted they were committed to the current ground in Nevil Road and would only consider moving to Filton Airfield as a last resort.
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