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
Orkney Islands
Planning applications.
Explore collected planning applications and decisions for Orkney Islands. Search an address, application reference or proposal to find a record.
Collected application statistics
Collected records · All available dates11,931Searchable applications
140Recorded as pending
96%Approval rate · 10,027 approved or refused records
433Refused applications
9,594 approved · 433 refused · 560 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 9 May 1988 to 5 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 12 Oct 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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 BuildingLocal plan Development and Marine Planning (policy)Pre-application advice Pre-application AdviceConservation areas Conservation Area Consent
Council contacts
- Planning enquiries01856873535Council source
- Planning enquiriesplanning@orkney.gov.ukCouncil 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 areas6 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
- Withdrawn/Returned09/262/AD
Display signs
Former "Powerbowl" And Associated Car Parks, Great Western Road, Kirkwall
Received 11 Jun 2009 - Decided09/263/PPF
Erect a house
4 Graham Place (Land Near), Stromness, KW16 3BY
Received 11 Jun 2009 - Decided09/264/PPF
Extend a house
Knowe, Oyce Road, Sanday, KW17 2AZ
Received 11 Jun 2009 - Decided09/265/PPF
Construction of roads and installation of services to provide 18 serviced house sites
Grainbank (Land Near), Kirkwall, KW15 1RD
Received 12 Jun 2009 - Decided09/266/PPF
Erect a house
Plot 26 (Land Near), The Meadows, Kirkwall
Received 15 Jun 2009 - Decided09/267/PPF
Extend a house
Faraclett, Scockness Road, Rousay, KW17 2PR
Received 16 Jun 2009 - Decided09/268/PPF
Extend a house to improve disability access
Branstone, Westray, KW17 2DD
Received 16 Jun 2009 - Decided09/269/PPF
Extend and alter hotel
Smithfield Hotel, Dounby
Received 16 Jun 2009 - Decided09/270/PPF
Extend and renovate existing building to provide self catering unit
Buxa, Orphir
Received 17 Jun 2009 - Decided09/271/PPF
Erect a house for a retiring farmer and convert war building to a store
Westerbister (Land Near), Holm
Received 17 Jun 2009 - Decided09/272/LB
Repairs to roof and reconstruct kiln vent stack to original size and form
Barony Mills, Birsay, KW17 2LY
Received 18 Jun 2009 - Decided09/273/PPF
Replace single-glazed windows with double-glazed windows in rear elevation
11 Laing Street, Kirkwall, KW15 1NW
Received 18 Jun 2009 - Decided09/274/TC
Fell a mature sycamore
Church Road, Stromness
Received 22 Jun 2009 - Decided09/275/PPF
Extend and alter a house
Barm, Redland Road, Firth, KW17 2EU
Received 22 Jun 2009 - Decided09/276/PPF
Erect a house
Site 2 (Land Near), Kirk Park, Orphir
Received 22 Jun 2009 - Decided09/277/PPF
Extend building to create a bedded court
Biggings Farm, Holm, KW17 2RX
Received 23 Jun 2009 - Decided09/278/PPF
Erect a house
Site 1 (Land Near), Newcastle, Burray
Received 23 Jun 2009 - Decided09/279/PPF
Change of use from smithy to switchgear building
The Smithy, Evie
Received 23 Jun 2009 - Decided09/280/PPO
Siting of a house
Lower Savillegreen (Land Near), Sanday, KW17 2BL
Received 23 Jun 2009 - Decided09/281/LB
Reinstate previous lobby and doorway and removal of doorways to be replaced with stud partitions
8 Broad Street, Kirkwall
Received 25 Jun 2009 - Decided09/282/PPF
Convert outbuilding to a house and extend
Whistle Brae, South Ronaldsay
Received 25 Jun 2009 - Decided09/283/PPF
Change of use of part of building to provide sales area
Grainshore Training Centre, Garrison Road, Hatston Industrial Estate, Kirkwall
Received 29 Jun 2009 - Decided09/284/PPF
Erect a replacement house and a general purpose shed
Curcabreck (Land Near), Harray
Received 29 Jun 2009 - Decided09/285/PPF
Erect a replacement house
Purtabreck (Land Near), Toab
Received 30 Jun 2009
Records are ordered by application ID, not submission date. Use search to find a particular address or proposal.
View all applicationsResearching a proposal in Orkney Islands
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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Planning approval rates: how to read council statistics
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 Orkney Islands, 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