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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided11/539/EB
11,000 volt overhead line alterations
Westfield, Stromness, Orkney
Received 30 Sept 2011 - Decided11/540/SCR
Screening opinion request to erect a wind turbine (max. height 27.2m)
Houton (Land Near), Orphir, Orkney, KW17 2RD
Received 3 Oct 2011 - Decided11/541/SCR
Screening opinion request to erect a wind turbine (max. height 27.2m)
Hindatoon (Land Near), Harray, Orkney KW17 2JT
Received 3 Oct 2011 - Decided11/542/TPP
Erect a wind turbine [max. height 27.2m]
Bryameadow Farm (Land Near), Bryameadow Road, Sandwick, Orkney, KW17 2JH
Received 3 Oct 2011 - Decided11/543/TPP
Erect 2 wind turbines (max. height 27.2m)
Broland (Land Near), Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PR
Received 4 Oct 2011 - Decided11/544/PP
Erect a garage
Seaneven, Sunnybank, St Ola KW15 1FP
Received 3 Oct 2011 - Decided11/546/APN
Erect a GP shed
Stackald (Land Near) Eday, Orkney, KW17 2AA
Received 4 Oct 2011 - Decided11/547/PP
Change of use from surgery to 3 flats
Former Dounby Surgery Dounby Orkney
Received 4 Oct 2011 - Decided11/548/PP
Erect a house with integral garage and install an air source heat pump
Grainbank (Plot 16) (Land Near), Kirkwall,
Received 4 Oct 2011 - Decided11/549/LB
Re-slate existing roofs in stone slate
Hall Of Tankerness, Tankerness Hall Road, Tankerness, Orkney, KW17 2QS
Received 4 Oct 2011 - Decided11/550/LB
Install buff coloured fireclay ridge tiles to recently re-slatted roof
Hall Of Tankerness Tankerness Hall Road Tankerness Orkney KW17 2QS
Received 4 Oct 2011 - Decided11/551/SCR
Screening opinion request to erect a wind turbine (max. height 47m)
Herston Head (Land Near), South Ronaldsay
Received 5 Oct 2011 - Decided11/552/PP
Erect a house and install an air source heat pump and renovate stone 'bothy' for purposes ancillary to the proposed house
Quoyberstane (Land Near), Craigiefield Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1UF
Received 5 Oct 2011 - Decided11/553/PP
Erect 8 houses
Weyland Terrace (Land Near), Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1LS
Received 5 Oct 2011 - Decided11/554/PP
Change of use from existing offices to 2 houses
10 Laing Street/ 25 Queen Street, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 6 Oct 2011 - Decided11/555/LB
Change of use from existing offices to 2 houses, involving remodelling and refurbishment of existing buildings, including installation of new roof lights
10 Laing Street/ 25 Queen Street, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 6 Oct 2011 - Decided11/556/PP
Erect a house and install an air source heat pump
Greenwall (Land Near), Sandyhill Road, Shapinsay, Orkney, KW17 2DY
Received 6 Oct 2011 - Decided11/557/PP
Erect a garden shed for mobility scooter (retrospective)
3 Pickaquoy Loan, Kirkwall
Received 6 Oct 2011 - Decided11/558/TPP
Erect a new community hall with car parking and erect a wind turbine (max height 18m)
Birsay Outdoor Centre (Land Near), Birsay, Orkney
Received 6 Oct 2011 - Decided11/559/PP
Erect a garage
4 St Rognvald Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1PR
Received 6 Oct 2011 - Decided11/560/PP
Install ground mounted solar panels
Suilven (Land Near), Ravie Hill Road, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2ND
Received 6 Oct 2011 - Decided11/561/TPP
Amend Planning Permission 11/381/PP to amend 2 turbines location (max. height to 18.2m)
Barebrecks (Land Near), Germiston Road, Orphir, Orkney, KW16 3HD
Received 6 Oct 2011 - Decided11/562/SCR
Screening opinion request to erect a wind turbine (max. height either 47m or 40m)
Newark (Land Near), Westray
Received 6 Oct 2011 - Decided11/563/PP
Install an air source heat pump (retrospective)
19 Lynn Park, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1SL
Received 7 Oct 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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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