Gun City to tone down signage at new Napier store after community outcry

Gun City has agreed to make the signage on its new Ahuriri mega-store more discreet after a community backlash against it following the Christchurch mosque shootings.

In a closed-doors meeting last Tuesday, Bill Dalton, Maxine Boag and other councillors met Gun City chief executive David Tipple and local Gun City officials.

They discussed a recent community petition and other issues about the store, which is due to open some time this month.

"The only part of the consent which was not approved last year [because it was not ready] was their signage," Napier City councillor Maxine Boag said.

"As a gesture of good faith they are reducing the size of their signs so they are smaller than that of any of their other shops.

"For instance, in Dunedin the logo is 2.1m high, and Hamilton 2.2m, whereas they are going to reduce that to 1.7m in Ahuriri."

Boag said that because of the recent terror attack in Christchurch Gun City had decided to have a low-key opening out of respect for the victims.

"They went out of their way to assure us that they store and market their guns very securely, that they are stored in areas inaccessible to customers and that they would comply with the new legislation immediately," Boag said.

Napier local James Crow, whose "tell council no Gun City in Napier" petition managed to get more than 600 signatures in less than a week, believed the petition worked in getting the voice of the community to be heard by council and Gun City.

James Crow hands over his 'Tell council no Gun City' to Napier City Council councillor Maxine Boag. Photo / Warren Buckland

"It does appear we have raised the concern of the community ... and been able to get Gun City to take notice of what we have to say," Crow said.

"Because if we didn't we would have seen a full-blown sign and big grand opening at a time when it wouldn't have been appropriate."

Crow said he felt more could be done in the future to give more warning to other towns and communities about when a firearm retailer was opening.

Gun City has been approached several times for comment.