Firm told 'woke free zone' flag needs planning consent

A business that put up a "woke-free zone" flag has been forced to ask for planning permission.

The flag was erected last November outside online shop Net World Sports on Wrexham Industrial Estate, but the flagpole which it is attached to was installed without permission.

Company founder Alex Loven, 36, defended it saying a "cloak of wokeness" had taken over society, education and media.

In a letter to Wrexham council, an agent for the company said the firm was proposing to fly several flags at the headquarters.

"This application seeks retrospective advertisement consent for these flags in addition to another two flags," they said.

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

As well as the "woke-free zone" flag others would read "Forza", "Net World 3PL", "utopia city" and "Net World Sports".

According to Radio 4's Woke: The Journey of a Word, the term woke was originally used by African-Americans as a "watchword" in the early 1900s.

More recently it has been used as an insult to people perceived as overly sensitive to social matters.

Mr Loven, named the richest young person in Wales in the Sunday Times Rich List, previously questioned whether wokeness hindered 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."

He added: "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."

A decision will be made on the application at a later date.