Millionaire who erected 'woke-free zone' flag may have it pulled down (2024)

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A young millionaire proudly flying a 'woke-free zone' flag at his company HQ faces it being pulled down by council officials - for failing to get planning permission.

Successful sportsgear tycoon Alex Loven, 36, put up his flagpole banner in a stand against modern woke rules by stating: 'We should be building young people up, not pulling them down.'

But high-flyer Mr Loven - named as the richest young person in Wales in the Sunday Times Rich List - is in a planning battle with local council officials over three flagpoles at his 230-strong company.

He is estimated to be worth £200 million - and overtook football hero Gareth Bale as the richest man under 40 in Wales. He was awarded an MBE in King Charles's first birthday honours.

But not everyone in his community is flag-waving for his success.

The flagpole probe was launched after Mr Loven divided his local community in Wrexham, north Wales, with his anti-woke stance.

His company Net World Sports came under fire when his flag-waving was described as 'offensive' by one local resident.

The anonymous complainant protested it showed a 'complete lack of inclusivity' and was a display of 'complete and utter discrimination'.

The person added: 'I would be very disappointed to find that anyone would affiliate with such a business who have an obvious lack of ethnic, racial and sexual minority awareness and understanding.'

But high-achiever Mr Loven has defended his stunt after questioning whether 'wokeness' was hindering people's development.

He said: 'It's more than reasonable to question the value of the cloak of wokeness that has enveloped all parts of society from education to mainstream media.

'Simply put, we question whether the woke narrative is aiding the development of young people and it would be completely disingenuous to say otherwise if we don't believe in it.

'The world is a tough place and life is full of challenges. A sense of entitlement or bone idleness won't get you anywhere. We should be building young people up, not pulling them down.'

Mr Loven's entrepreneurial spirit started when he bought a cricket bat aged 13 before realising he could turn a profit by buying in bulk to sell to his friends and teachers at school.

He then worked long hours at a builders' merchants to save up enough money to buy a full container of sports nets. He saved up £13,000 from his shifts to kick-off his sports equipment business in 2009.

Net World Sports is now headquartered in a huge modern £25 million building and sells more than 100,000 football goals a year. He was awarded an MBE in King Charles' first New Year's Honours List.

But Labour council officials in Wrexham dug into his business to discover that the flagpole outside the firm's main office was installed without planning permission.

Now his company is seeking back-dated approval for the three flagpoles in a bid to keep his banners flying.

The flagpoles are located on a grassed area to the north west of the headquarters building on the corner of Bryn Lane and Ridleywood Road.

The application lists the slogans to be shown on the flags, including 'Forza', 'Net World 3PL', 'Utopia City', 'Net World Sports' and the controversial 'Woke-Free Zone'.

In a plea to the council, an agent acting on the company's behalf said: 'Net World Sports is proposing to fly several flags on the site of the headquarters.

'Three flag poles flying three separate flags are already in place, therefore this application seeks retrospective advertisem*nt consent for these flags in addition to another two flags.

'The five flags will be flown interchangeably from the three flagpoles.

'Whilst the text and imagery on each flag varies, the maximum height of the individual letters and symbols will not exceed 56cm. No flags will be internally or externally illuminated.'

The term woke was originally used in the early 1900s referring to being alert to racial prejudice and discrimination.

But it has become an insult in politics for people perceived as being 'overly sensitive' about social issues.

A council spokesperson said a decision will be made on the retrospective planning application by the planning members at a later date.