As you can guess, I would have preferred the more prominent design as the watered down version lacks visual impact to the point where some on here can't even spot it.
I am a little biased as I have worked alongside several Conservation/Listed Buildings officers during my career, and only one of them actually had any formal design training. One girl I worked with wanted to ban anything other than white window frames on all arterial roads, whether or not they were in conservation areas - she was bonkers. Her partner in crime was the Chairwoman of the local civic society, a retired schoolteacher, again without any formal design qualifications. I generally take this sort of input with a large pinch of salt.