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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided17/292/HH
Erect a garage
Cooperhouse, Northside Road, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2LU
Received 21 Jun 2017 - Decided17/293/PP
Erect a house and install an air source heat pump (amendment to 14/138/AMC)
Wilderness Plot 1 (Land Near), Holm, Orkney
Received 23 Jun 2017 - Decided17/294/PP
Extend a cattle building
Netherton, Moss Road, Holm, Orkney KW17 2SA
Received 23 Jun 2017 - Decided17/295/LB
Alteration of chimney stack, remove cement render, install replacement roof lights, doors and rainwater goods, render walls, form doorway and install an air source heat pump
51 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DN
Received 23 Jun 2017 - Decided17/296/PP
Alteration of chimney stack, remove cement render, install replacement roof lights, doors and rainwater goods, render walls, form doorway and install an air source heat pump.
51 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1DN
Received 23 Jun 2017 - Decided17/297/HH
Extend a house.
Arwick, Arwick Road, Evie, Orkney KW17 2PF
Received 26 Jun 2017 - Decided17/298/PP
Erect house with air source heat pump, create an access and install a communal foul drainage system (following planning permission in principle 16/556/PIP)
Towerhill (Site 2), Inganess Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SR
Received 27 Jun 2017 - Decided17/299/PP
Erect a replacement house with air source heat pump
Bayview, Orphir, Orkney KW15 1SG
Received 28 Jun 2017 - Unknown17/300/PP
Erect house with detached garage and install an air source heat pump
7 Repeater Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1ZP
Received 28 Jun 2017 - Decided17/301/PP
Erect a slatted byre
Backaras, Noup Road, Westray, Orkney KW17 2DW
Received 29 Jun 2017 - Decided17/302/APN
Erect a GP shed
Kirbuster, Hoy, Orkney, KW16 3PQ
Received 29 Jun 2017 - Withdrawn/Returned17/303/PP
Construct a ramped access (retrospective)
43 Junction Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1AR
Received 29 Jun 2017 - Decided17/304/HH
Extend a house
Cott, Orphir, Orkney, KW17 2RE
Received 29 Jun 2017 - Decided17/305/MAR
Create a salmon farming site comprising of 12 x 80m circumference cages, arranged 2 x 6 in a 70m grid with the feed barge located at the east end of the cage configuration
Lober, St Margarets Hope, Orkney
Received 4 Jul 2017 - Decided17/306/HH
Extend a house
Gairth, Corston Road, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2LQ
Received 4 Jul 2017 - Decided17/307/HH
Paint walls
29 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DN
Received 4 Jul 2017 - Decided17/308/PIP
Siting of 2 houses and create access
Evie Glebe (Land Near), Evie, Orkney
Received 5 Jul 2017 - Decided17/309/PP
Change of use from store to shop and display signs
Albert Hotel (Former Store), Mounthoolie Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1JZ
Received 5 Jul 2017 - Decided17/310/APN
Erect a GP shed
Flaws, Geroin Road, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2JR
Received 6 Jul 2017 - Decided17/311/PP
Erect house with integral garage and install an air source heat pump, general purpose shed and create an access
Briarlea (Land Near), Bigswell Road, Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3LA
Received 6 Jul 2017 - Decided17/313/PN
Install a telecommunications box
Isbister Bros Ltd (Land Near), Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3LT
Received 6 Jul 2017 - Decided17/312/PN
Install a telecommunications box
1 Scapa Cottages (Land Near), St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SE
Received 6 Jul 2017 - Decided17/314/HH
Extend a house
Hunto, Wattle Road, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2LS
Received 6 Jul 2017 - Withdrawn/Returned17/315/PP
Erect a house with an integral garage
6 Repeater Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1ZP
Received 7 Jul 2017
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
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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 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