A new EV charging hub providing eight ultra-rapid chargers for 16 charging bays has opened at a National Trust property a mile and a half off the A303 near Mere, Wiltshire.
The Raw Charging hub is located at Stourhead, an 18th century country-house estate covering 2,650 acres. The hub, which also offers eight slower AC chargers, forms part of National Trust’s plans to achieve net zero carbon neutrality by 2030.
The project is part of what Raw terms a “broader collaboration” between it and the heritage charity, which aims to “decarbonise UK transport and support sustainability across iconic heritage sites”.
Raw and the National Trust have worked together to install chargepoints at 19 NT properties since 2023, with another 19 sites due to receive chargers this year. Raw and the National Trust have a further 74 locations are in the design phase.
Raw Charging was founded in 2018 and is primarily focussed on destination hubs rather than standalone EV charging stations. In addition to its work with the National Trust, the UK firm has partnered with Greene King, Aviva, AA Hotels & Hospitality, and Merlin Entertainment.
Raw’s chief executive, Jason Simpson, said the new Wiltshire hub “is a great example of what this partnership can achieve, while Philip Niemand, general manager at the Stourhead & Mompesson Estate, called it a “landmark installation” that will make “sustainable travel even easier for EV drivers heading to the South West”.
Raw recently made the news after charging cables were hacked off and stolen at one of its hubs in West Yorkshire hub, a scrap-metal based crime that has grown increasingly problematic in recent years.
