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 dates11,978Searchable applications
140Recorded as pending
96%Approval rate · 10,073 approved or refused records
434Refused applications
9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 24 Sept 1979 to 5 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 14 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided16/408/APN
Erect an agricultural shed.
Braehead Farm (Land Near), Bu Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3JH
Received 30 Aug 2016 - Decided16/410/PP
Erect 30 houses with associated services (amendment to 15/448/PP).
Grainbank, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1UH
Received 30 Aug 2016 - Decided16/411/HH
Install an air source heat pump (Retrospective).
53A Hamnavoe, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3JQ
Received 31 Aug 2016 - Decided16/412/PP
Erect a house with integral garage and an air source heat pump.
1 Work Road (Plot 19), Watersfield, Kirkwall
Received 31 Aug 2016 - Decided16/413/HH
Install an air source heat pump (retrospective).
Flat 4, 40 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3AA
Received 31 Aug 2016 - Withdrawn/Returned16/414/PIP
Siting of two x one for one, one x two for one and create an access.
Towerhill, Inganess Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SR
Received 31 Aug 2016 - Decided16/415/PP
Install an inlet pipe.
Flotta Oil Terminal, Flotta, Orkney, KW16 3NP
Received 31 Aug 2016 - Decided16/416/PP
Extend a building.
Chinglebraes, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SE
Received 1 Sept 2016 - Decided16/417/PP
Change of use from self-catering to domestic.
Burra View, Gaudiesback, Innertown, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3JW
Received 1 Sept 2016 - Decided16/418/PP
Erect 6 camping pods and a barbeque structure including associated siteworks.
Daisybank, Denwick Road, Deerness, Orkney, KW17 2QJ
Received 2 Sept 2016 - Decided16/419/HH
Install an air source heat pump.
Arrowhouse, Dounby, Sandwick, Orkney, KW17 2HT
Received 5 Sept 2016 - Decided16/420/HH
Extend a house and install roof lights.
1 Highbury Villas, East Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HT
Received 5 Sept 2016 - Decided16/421/VR
Variation to condition 13 of permission 12/082/PPMAJ to remove the reference to plot 36 & 38.
Garson (Land Near), Stromness, Orkney
Received 5 Sept 2016 - Decided16/422/HH
Erect a fence.
18 Hermaness, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1XA
Received 6 Sept 2016 - Decided16/423/PP
Create two serviced sites.
Castlehame (Land Near), Carness Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1UE
Received 6 Sept 2016 - Decided16/424/VR
Variation to condition 11 of permission 08/138/PPF to extend the period of consent to 25 years.
Savisgarth, Evie
Received 6 Sept 2016 - Decided16/425/HH
Install an air source heat pump.
Andora, 1 Cursiter Crescent, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1XN
Received 7 Sept 2016 - Decided16/426/HH
Extend a house and install an air source heat pump.
3A Coplands Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BW
Received 7 Sept 2016 - Decided16/427/LB
Replace windows.
Old Manse, The Palace, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2LX
Received 7 Sept 2016 - Decided16/428/PP
Erect a byre.
Stonehall (Land Near), Stonehall Road, Deerness, Orkney, KW17 2QQ
Received 8 Sept 2016 - Decided16/429/PP
Install a telecommunications box (retrospective).
We Frame It (Land Near), 60 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HQ
Received 8 Sept 2016 - Decided16/430/HH
Extend a house.
Burlee, Orphir, Orkney, KW17 2RD
Received 8 Sept 2016 - Decided16/431/PP
Import soil to raise ground level (retrospective).
Orkney Auction Mart (Land Near), Grainshore Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1FL
Received 9 Sept 2016 - Decided16/433/HH
Install air source heat pumps and cover.
18 Franklin Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3DZ
Received 12 Sept 2016
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
All planning guides
Understanding planning · 13 min read
Planning permission drawings: how to read plans
Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.
UK researchPublished Updated
Property research · 13 min read
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.
UK researchPublished Updated
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