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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided12/183/PP
Change of use of land from agricultural to residential and erect a GP shed
Una Vale (Land Near) Quholm Road Stromness Orkney KW16 3HU
Received 20 Mar 2012 - Decided12/184/PP
Change of use from a school to a house
Old Burray Primary School Village Road Burray Orkney
Received 20 Mar 2012 - Decided12/185/SCO
Scoping opinion request to erect 5 x 2.3 mW wind turbines (max height 93.5m)
Quanterness (Land Near) St Ola Orkney
Received 21 Mar 2012 - Decided12/186/TPP
Erect a 15kW wind turbine (max height 20m)
Barebreck (Land Near) South Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2RH
Received 21 Mar 2012 - Decided12/187/TPP
Erect a 20kW wind turbine (max height 22m)
Cotland (Land Near) St Ola Orkney KW15 1SF
Received 21 Mar 2012 - Decided12/188/PP
Amend planning permission 11/670/PP to alter and extend a house and install an air source heat pump
Colster Deerness Orkney KW17 2QJ
Received 21 Mar 2012 - Decided12/189/APN
Extend an existing silo
Stratheast Holm Orkney KW17 2SA
Received 21 Mar 2012 - Decided12/190/PIP
Siting of a house
Glen (Site 2) (Land Near) Rackwick Hoy Orkney
Received 21 Mar 2012 - Decided12/191/TPP
Erect 3 x 10kW wind turbines (max height 19.1m)
Georth (Land Near) Evie Orkney KW17 2PJ
Received 21 Mar 2012 - Decided12/192/TPP
Erect a 10kW wind turbine (max height 19m)
Dale (Land Near) Stromness Orkney KW16 3JP
Received 21 Mar 2012 - Decided12/193/AMC
Erect a replacement house with integral garage and air source heat pump and demolish part of shed to create access
Viewforth (Land Near) Grimbister Firth
Received 22 Mar 2012 - Decided12/194/APN
Erect a GP shed
Queenamoan Dounby Orkney KW17 2JQ
Received 22 Mar 2012 - Decided12/197/PP
Change of use from agricultural land to permit storage of Test Support Buoys and associated instrument containers, used in the testing of marine energy converter devices. Estimated total storage period per annum (non-continuous) will be 12-16 weeks
Orkney Sea Cadets (Land Near) St Ola Orkney KW15 1SD
Received 27 Mar 2012 - Decided12/198/PP
Erect a boat store
Redlandhill Stromness Orkney KW16 3LN
Received 27 Mar 2012 - Decided12/199/APN
Replace the roof and increase the wall height of 2 existing outbuildings
Northfield Burray Orkney KW17 2SY
Received 27 Mar 2012 - Decided12/200/PP
Paint shop front windows, doors and pillars white, install metal shutter to rear door, and install a satellite dish above flat roof
19 Albert Street (Former Argo's Bakery) Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1HP KW15 1HP
Received 27 Mar 2012 - Withdrawn/Returned12/201/TPP
Erect 2 x 10kW wind turbines (max height 19.1m)
3 Gill Pier (Land Near) Westray Orkney KW17 2DL
Received 28 Mar 2012 - Decided12/202/TPP
Erect a 10kW wind turbine (max height 19.1m)
Culdigo (Land Near) Westray Orkney KW17 2DN
Received 28 Mar 2012 - Decided12/203/AMC
Amend planning permission 11/565/AMC to erect a replacement house with an integral garage
South Breck (Land Near), Firth, Orkney
Received 29 Mar 2012 - Decided12/204/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
Mayfield House (Land Near) St Ola Orkney KW15 1SU
Received 29 Mar 2012 - Decided12/205/TPP
Erect a 10kW wind turbine (max height 18.5m)
Oddie (Land Near) Stronsay Orkney KW17 2AT
Received 30 Mar 2012 - Decided12/206/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
The Old Tractor Shed (Land Near) Sanday Orkney KW17 2BP
Received 30 Mar 2012 - Decided12/207/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Brough (Land Near) Toab Orkney KW17 2QG
Received 30 Mar 2012 - Decided12/208/LB
Fit out ground floor as shop, display advertisement, repaint shop front, and install air conditioning plant
31 Albert Street Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1HL
Received 30 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