The opening date for the Costa in Sandwich has been delayed as new designs have been submitted to the council.

Plans for two non-illuminated fascia signs and one non-illuminated projecting sign have been submitted to Dover District Council by Architecture Design Limited.

This comes after previous plans for illuminated signs at the former Whites of Kent building in New Street were rejected by DDC.

The council said the illumination and colouring of advertisements would represent “alien and jarring features on the existing building and would cause harm to visual amenity, the special character and appearance of this part of the conservation area and the setting of listed buildings.”

Architect Kamlesh Singh, said: “Basically what we have done is taken on board comments from councillors and the council itself and created it within the suggestions and requirements.”

The new designs will see non-illuminated signs and will not include the bright red colour scheme associated with the coffee chain. Instead it will be a timber fascia board painted brown with the Costa name in white. There will also be a small Costa Coffee hanging sign above the cafe.

Mr Singh said he was feeling confident about this design. He said: “The design will conform with the street and existing context. I think we should be alright at this point.”

Last week, the architect company sent a tweet criticising DDCs decision. It said: “Dover Council with no consistency is losing out on High Street trade. Our design #CostaCoffee #Sandwich coming soon despite their hypocrisy.”

Similar plans to those submitted previously have been granted permission at other historically sensitive sites but Mr Singh explained he understands that councils do differ from one place to another and said this site was a “tricky one”.

The building was sold to the Costa franchise after Whites of Kent closed in June, after 45 years of trading in the town.

This sparked controversy among residents in Sandwich with many against the chain and others open to investment in the local economy.

The coffee shop was due to open in late July and create up to 10 jobs but a Costa spokesman has now confirmed due to the refusal of its first planning application, it is now looking at a new trading date of early August.