Understanding planning · 13 min read
Planning application documents: what to read first
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.
Scotland · Local authority
Highland
Planning applications.
Explore collected planning applications and decisions for Highland. Search an address, application reference or proposal to find a record.
Collected application statistics
Collected records · All available dates1,574Searchable applications
636Recorded as pending
95%Approval rate · 785 approved or refused records
40Refused applications
745 approved · 40 refused · 42 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 21 Dec 2021 to 24 Sept 2026. Most recent record check: 28 Sept 2026. Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.
Local planning information
Council sources checked 14 Sept 2026Planning information Planning and building standardsContact planning Planning contactsLocal plan Highland-wide Local Development PlanPre-application advice Get advice before you apply for planning permission
Council contacts
- Planning enquiries01349886608Council source
- Planning enquiries+441349886608Council source
Contact details were found on council pages. Check the source for opening hours and which enquiries the service handles.
Conservation areas and Article 4 directions
Explore published planning boundaries and follow their source records for designation details. Coverage varies: an empty map does not mean there are no restrictions. Check the council’s current maps and documents before relying on a boundary.
Conservation areas30 mapped area records
Article 4 direction areasBoundary dataset not connected
Interactive planning map loads with JavaScript. Dataset sources are linked below.
Download Article 4 coverage for all authorities (CSV)
Data downloaded 14 Sept 2026. Display boundaries are simplified and indicative. Map record counts are not a complete count of designations or directions.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland. Contains Historic Environment Scotland and Ordnance Survey data © Historic Environment Scotland – Scottish Charity No. SC045925 © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0. Data is indicative and may not contain the latest designations.
More application records
- Decided24/05129/S36
Caledonia South Offshore Wind Farm - construction and operation of an offshore wind farm comprising up to 78 turbines with fixed-bottom or floating substructures and maximum blade tip heights of 355m and 325m respectively, subsea interconnector and export cabling and associated infrastructure
Sea 50KM SE Of Wick Harbour Harbour Road Wick
Received 4 Dec 2024 - Decided24/05147/FUL
Erection of house
Ardcona Conaglen Ardgour Fort William PH33 7AH
Received 10 Dec 2024 - Decided24/05152/S36
Dalchork Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility with capacity of up to 249.9MW, comprising battery containers, switchgear, landscaping, CCTV access and associated infrastructure. This case will be determined by the Energy Consents Unit. Please visit Energy Consents Unit at https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationSearch.aspx?T=2 using reference number ECU00004963Please visit Energy Consents Unit at, https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationDetails.aspx?cr=ECU00004963&T=5 using reference number ECU00004963.
Land 1425M NW Of Lochside Lodge Lochside Lairg
Received 6 Dec 2024 - Decided24/05208/PIP
Erection of house
Land 185M SW Of Navidale Farmhouse Navidale Helmsdale
Received 13 Dec 2024 - Decided24/05246/FUL
Erection of distillery building with shop and cafe, erection of warehouses, store & formation of car park
Land 60M North Of Cottage Of Ardea Ballachulish
Received 18 Dec 2024 - Decided24/05280/FUL
Change of use to accommodation unit (in retrospect)
Land 70M NE Of 1 Church Bank Dores
Received 20 Dec 2024 - Decided25/00005/FUL
Erection of 2no. garden sheds (retrospective)
1 Camore Crescent Dornoch IV25 3HU
Received 3 Jan 2025 - Decided25/00051/S37
Glen Strathfarrar Vista - Construction of a replacement steel lattice tower with 132 kV & 33 kV downleads into a combined cable sealing end compound (CSE). Installation of new overhead line between the proposed new Tower 13R and existing Tower 14, along with the construction of a dedicated permanent access track from the new CSE compound to Glenstrathfarrar road. This case will be determined by the Energy Consents Unit. Please visit Energy Consents Unit at https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationDetails.aspx?cr=ECU00002134 using reference number ECU00002134
SSE Deanie Power Station Deanie Strathfarrar Kiltarlity Beauly IV4 7JX
Received 6 Jan 2025 - Decided25/00196/FUL
Change of use from garage/workshop to house
Land 15M East Of Milnfield 83 Kingsmills Road Inverness
Received 20 Jan 2025 - Decided25/00307/S36
Rigifa BESS - Construction and operation of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) over 200MW with associated infrastructure including underground grid connection, landscaping and ancillary works.
Land 625M SW Of 1 Phillips Mains Mey
Received 24 Jan 2025 - Decided25/00529/LBC
Alterations, extensions and change of use of bothy to dwelling
The Bothy Reay Thurso KW14 7RN
Received 12 Feb 2025 - Decided25/00556/PIP
Demolition and erection of dwelling
Westering Salen Acharacle PH36 4JN
Received 14 Feb 2025 - Decided25/00634/FUL
Renovation of building to form house with extensions
The Bothy Reay Thurso KW14 7RN
Received 20 Feb 2025 - Decided25/00677/FUL
Demolition and Erection of Restaurant Extension (Class 3), Alteration & Extension to Hotel Building (Class 7), Erection of 8no Self-Contained Holiday Units (Class 7), Erection of Storage Shed, associated Landscaping, EV Charging Infrastructure, Cycle & Car Parking, Servicing, Sewage Treatment Plants & Access
Three Chimneys Restaurant 1 Colbost Dunvegan Isle Of Skye IV55 8ZT
Received 24 Feb 2025 - Decided25/00803/FUL
Change of use of 3no. agricultural buildings into hotel accommodation. Felling of trees and provision of a new car parking area (in retrospect) this Includes landscaping of felled area
Land 25M North Of Melvich Hotel Melvich
Received 5 Mar 2025 - Decided25/00980/FUL
Erection of dwelling house
Land 145M NW Of Croit Na Cailliche Achdalieu Fort William
Received 13 Mar 2025 - Road Construction Consent Granted25/00995/RCC
Ness Side Area C1 (Part of a multi-phase Housing Development)
Land At Dores Road Inverness
Received 12 Mar 2025 - Decided25/01053/FUL
Erection of house
Land 100M NW Of 5 Rockfield Rockfield Portmahomack
Received 20 Mar 2025 - Awaiting decision25/01156/PIP
Phase 2 Inverness Campus comprising erection of buildings for use as business (Class 4), hotel (Class 7), staff and student residential accommodation (sui generis) and alternative shops and professional services (Class 1A), food and drink (Class 3) and/or non-residential institutions (Class 10) uses, associated infrastructure including internal campus roads, access, parking, open space, landscaping, sustainable urban drainage, utilities and associated works
Land 310M East Of Inverness College UHI 1 Inverness Campus Inverness
Received 26 Mar 2025 - Decided25/01322/FUL
Installation of 8no. solar PV panels and air source heat pump
2 High Street Rosemarkie Fortrose IV10 8UF
Received 7 Apr 2025 - Decided25/01332/FUL
Change of use of land to vehicle rental and servicing facility
42 Millburn Road Inverness IV2 3QX
Received 7 Apr 2025 - Decided25/01402/FUL
Erection of Bonded Warehouse and formation of access, carpark, SuDS and landscaping
Land 65M SE Of Iluka Oldwick Road Wick
Received 11 Apr 2025 - Decided25/01432/PIP
Erection of 7no. holiday lodges, service block and paths (renewal 21/03698/PIP)
Loch Ness Lodge Hotel Drumnadrochit Inverness IV63 6TU
Received 14 Apr 2025 - Decided25/01462/FUL
Change of use from public bar to guest and staff accommodation and erection of extension to hotel (including amendments to planning permissions 18/02161/FUL & 23/03156/FUL)
Balmacara Hotel Balmacara Kyle IV40 8DH
Received 15 Apr 2025
Records are ordered by application ID, not submission date. Use search to find a particular address or proposal.
View all applicationsResearching a proposal in Highland
Start with the address or application reference. Open a record to read the proposal, dates and available documents, then check the official register for the latest plans and consultation details. If nothing appears, check coverage before treating the result as a complete planning history.
Planning procedures in Scotland differ from those in England. Use the authority’s own guidance for application requirements, comments and decision timescales.
How to search planning applicationsGuides to planning records
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Understand planning approval rates with an interactive calculator, worked examples and comparison table. Check sample sizes, outcomes and coverage before comparing.
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What these statistics cover
These figures describe applications collected by PlanningTrack for Highland, across all dates currently available. They are a partial dataset, rather than an authority-wide performance measure. The date range does not establish continuous historical coverage.
The approval percentage is approved records divided by approved plus refused records. Pending, withdrawn and unknown outcomes are excluded. No percentage is shown until there is an approved or refused record.
Check collection coverage