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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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: 13 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided12/157/APN
Erect a GP shed
Tresness Farm Sanday Orkney
Received 8 Mar 2012 - Decided12/158/EB
Install additional poles on existing 11,000 volt overhead line
Carness Pumping Station Kirkwall Orkney
Received 8 Mar 2012 - Decided12/160/AMC
Erect a replacement house with integral garage and an air source heat pump
Woodside (Site 1) (Land Near) Tankerness Orkney
Received 12 Mar 2012 - Decided12/161/TPP
Erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 18m)
Daisybank (Land Near) Deerness Orkney KW17 2QL
Received 12 Mar 2012 - Decided12/162/PP
Erect a GP shed and relocate a septic tank
East Howe Birsay Orkney
Received 12 Mar 2012 - Decided12/163/TPP
Erect a 20kw wind turbine (max height 27.2m)
Fribo (Land Near) Westray Orkney KW17 2DP
Received 12 Mar 2012 - Decided12/164/TPP
Erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 18m)
Quivals Farm (Land Near) Sanday Orkney KW17 2BN
Received 12 Mar 2012 - Decided12/165/PP
Remove existing 2.4m mast and associated meteorological equipment and replace with solid state meteoroogical equipment attached to a 4m mast
Sandybank (Land Near) Westside Road Eday Orkney KW17 2AA
Received 12 Mar 2012 - Decided12/166/PP
Remove existing met mast and associated equipment and foundation, take down fences, and reinstate land for agricultural use and erect a 4m met mast as a relocated replacement for the existing met mast and weather station
Billia Croo (Land Near) Outertown Road Stromness Orkney KW16 3JP
Received 12 Mar 2012 - Decided12/167/SCO
Scoping opinion request to erect 3 x 2.3mW wind turbines (max height 92.5m), control room and create an access track
Ocklester (Land Near) Holm Orkney
Received 13 Mar 2012 - Appeal decided12/168/PP
Create a car park and public area
St Magnus Church (Land Near) The Palace Birsay Orkney KW17 2LX
Received 13 Mar 2012 - Decided12/169/PN
Temporary siting for 3 years of 5 steel containers (40ftx8ft) mounted on concrete pads to house power generation equipment
Power Station Great Western Road Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1AN
Received 13 Mar 2012 - Decided12/170/TPP
Erect a 10kW wind turbine (max height 19m)
Breckan Farm (Land Near) Finstown Orkney KW17 2EG
Received 13 Mar 2012 - Decided12/171/TPP
Erect 2 x 10kW wind turbines (max height 19m)
West Breckan (Land Near) Holm Orkney KW17 2RU
Received 13 Mar 2012 - Decided12/172/PP
Demolish existing redundant outbuilding, erect a house and install an air source heat pump
Midhouse (Land Near) Harray Orkney
Received 14 Mar 2012 - Decided12/173/PP
Extend a house
10 Soulisquoy Loan Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1BY
Received 14 Mar 2012 - Decided12/174/PP
Convert existing garage into self-catering accommodation and respite care facility and install an air source heat pump
Grainbank Cottage Hatston Brae Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1RD
Received 16 Mar 2012 - Decided12/175/TPP
Erect 2 x 5kW wind turbines (max height 18m)
Ashleigh (Land Near) Dounby Orkney KW17 2JA
Received 19 Mar 2012 - Decided12/176/PP
Erect a house with integral garage
Colligarth Farm (Land Near) Sanday Orkney KW17 2BW
Received 19 Mar 2012 - Decided12/178/VR
Vary condition 1 of full planning permission 06/324/PPF to extend the consent for the erection of 9 holiday chalets
Scorrabrae (Land Near) Orphir Orkney
Received 19 Mar 2012 - Decided12/179/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 18m)
Breek (Land Near) Frotoft Rousay Orkney KW17 2PT
Received 20 Mar 2012 - Decided12/180/TPN
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
Lyrowall (Land Near) St. Margaret's Hope South Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2TW
Received 20 Mar 2012 - Decided12/181/TPP
Erect 2 x 5kW wind turbines (max height 18m)
Ronaldsvoe (Land Near) St. Margaret's Hope South Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2TW
Received 20 Mar 2012 - Decided12/182/PP
Erect a replacement house with integral garage and an air source heat pump
Gorn (Land Near) Harray Orkney KW17 2JS
Received 20 Mar 2012
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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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