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 dates11,977Searchable applications
139Recorded 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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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: 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided11/487/TPP
Erect a wind turbine (max. height 15m)
Fersness Farm (Land Near), West Side Road, Eday, Orkney, KW17 2AA
Received 7 Sept 2011 - Decided11/488/PP
Extend a house
Millhouse, Harray, Orkney KW17 2LA
Received 9 Sept 2011 - Withdrawn/Returned11/489/PIP
Siting of a new house for a farm worker/lorry driver
Upper Hobbister (Land Near), Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3HG
Received 9 Sept 2011 - Decided11/491/PN
Demolish 2 houses
7 & 8 Papdale Houses, Kirkwall, KW15 1LJ
Received 9 Sept 2011 - Decided11/495/PP
Extend a house and install an air source heat pump
Millcroft, Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3LR
Received 13 Sept 2011 - Decided11/496/PP
Extend a house
Costa Mill, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2NJ
Received 14 Sept 2011 - Decided11/497/PP
Install ground mounted solar panels
East Kirbist, Kirbist Road, Westray, Orkney, KW17 2DR
Received 14 Sept 2011 - Decided11/498/TPP
Erect a wind turbine (max. height 18m)
Crismo Farm (Land Near), Costa Evie, Orkney KW17 2NW
Received 15 Sept 2011 - Decided11/499/TPP
Erect 2 wind turbines (max. height 18m)
Mossbank (Land Near), St Ola, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1SE
Received 15 Sept 2011 - Decided11/500/S36SCO
Scoping opinion request for the proposed Section 36 application under Electricity Act 1989
Brough Head Wave Farm, West Coast, Orkney
Received 15 Sept 2011 - Decided11/501/PIP
Siting of a house
Walled Garden (ex Glaitness House), Soulisquoy Loan, Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1BA
Received 15 Sept 2011 - Decided11/502/LB
Demolish section of boundary wall to form access, and demolish greenhouse and reinstate original wall
Walled Garden (ex Glaitness House), Soulisquoy Loan, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1BA
Received 15 Sept 2011 - Decided11/503/AD
Display 2 externally illuminated signs
Lynnfield Hotel Holm Road Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1SU
Received 15 Sept 2011 - Decided11/504/MARCON
Review of existing fish farm sites - 4 circular cages 90m circumference, depth 8m to rear atlantic salmon
Breck, Bay Of Ham, Rousay
Received 16 Sept 2011 - Decided11/505/PP
Convert part of factory building to a self catering unit for holiday letting
The Smokery (Land Near), Blustery Brae, Outertown Road, Stromness, KW16 3JP
Received 16 Sept 2011 - Decided11/506/VR
Vary condition 2 of outline planning permission 08/347/PPO to extend the consent for the siting of a replacement house
Fetercairn (Land Near), Stenness, Orkney
Received 20 Sept 2011 - Decided11/507/PP
Convert former garage and erect extension to form an office
Benbeoch, Heddle Road, Finstown, Firth, Orkney, KW17 2JX
Received 20 Sept 2011 - Decided11/508/PIP
Siting of a house
Maple Cottage (Land Near). St Rognvald Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1PR
Received 20 Sept 2011 - Decided11/509/TPP
Erect a wind turbine (max. height 27.2m)
Raveyhall (Land Near) Loons Road Birsay KW17 2NA
Received 20 Sept 2011 - Decided11/510/PP
Erect a house
Springs (Land Near), Burray
Received 21 Sept 2011 - Decided11/511/PP
Install an air source heat pump
13 Warrenfield Drive, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1QA
Received 21 Sept 2011 - Decided11/512/PP
Renovate and extend outbuilding to create a study/studio
Northfield, Deerness, Orkney, KW17 2QL
Received 21 Sept 2011 - Decided11/513/APN
Demolish existing and erect a new GP shed
Scuan, Germiston Road, Stenness, Stromness, KW16 3HF
Received 22 Sept 2011 - Withdrawn/Returned11/514/PIP
Siting of a replacement house
Little Northfield (Land Near), Deerness, Orkney, KW17 2QL
Received 22 Sept 2011
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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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.
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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