We have 85,000+ operating centres in the UK organised by city and region here.Guide to applying for an HGV (freight) or PSV (passenger) Operator's Licence
TransportForum.com/guide-olicence
Everything in one place for those who want to start and set up an HGV or PSV transport company (haulage or passenger)
TransportForum.com/everything
An HGV or PSV parking location or a yard for your vehicles is called an "operating centre" in the application but in most cases it's just an empty but suitable space to park your vehicles. We have 85,000+ operating centres in the UK grouped by city and region at this link. If you need more of them or in smaller cities, watch this video on how you can find them:
Search for operating centres used by other companies with a valid operator's licence at this link as explained in the video above by city name or partial post code.
HOW TO APPROACH, NEGOTIATE WITH AND GET A PERMISSION TO PARK AS WELL AS WHAT YOU NEED FROM THE OWNER, LANDLORD OR MANAGER OF AN OPERATING CENTRE
Once you've made a list of operating centres in your area, visit them in person, there are no easy-to-find phone numbers or emails, find the right person there who is in charge (not a security guard or receptionist) and negotiate a parking space for yourself. Most of them will need some convincing and negotiation on your part to let you use their location for your operator's licence and later to park your vehicles, so be prepared for that. Renting out spaces for trucks is not their main business so they are not actively marketing and offering their spaces.
The first important thing you need to do when you visit them is to try and find the right person in charge who may not be there at that moment. Your first contact will probably be with someone like a security guard or a receptionist and they don't know much and will probably just tell you that nothing is available. Remember, for most of them, renting out parking spaces is not their main business so their employees aren't trained on what to say in response to enquiries like yours. So you need to find the right person to talk to.
Print business cards or flyers with your contact details and hand them out at the places you visit so that they can contact you if something becomes available later. Also, ask for their contact details and follow up in a few days or weeks if no places are available at the time of your visit. You may need to contact them several times before you find a place, don't expect it to be immediate. Don't just go to the places on your list but stop by other locations where you see commercial vehicles parked and talk to them as well.
A verbal permission to park is usually enough but if they give you a confirmation letter or a contract, by all means take it. In practically all cases, you will not be required to submit a written permission from the parking location. But it's still better to get a letter or an email from them with a confirmation that your are allowed to park there, here's a sample letter: viewtopic.php?t=4841. There's no place to upload it with your application so just keep it in your records.
Avoid dense residential areas, most likely they will not be accepted. Your operating centre should be in an industrial area. Another very common requirement is to be able to enter and exit in forward gear. In other words, there must be enough space in your operating centre to make a U-turn. They don't want you reversing onto the main road for safety reasons.
With most operating centres, you won't have to pay until you actually bring your vehicles to park there. But everything is up to negotiation, some of them may ask you to pay and it's up to you to decide, I don't recommend it. It's okay to leave a deposit that will be counted towards the first month when you actually start using that location.
The places that advertise themselves and thus are easy to find are usually the worst ones, they are more expensive, have the worst terms and conditions and they are usually overcrowded with other companies and trucks. The Licensing Office is usually aware of that and they will ask you to provide maps of where your and other vehicles will be parked. It's better to avoid them. The best locations don't usually advertise themselves but you can find them as I explain in the video above.
You can view available operating centres for rent and advertise that you are looking for one in the following section of TransportForum.com: viewforum.php?f=38