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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided12/257/LB
Demolish attached porch and shed, erect porch and kitchen extension with slate roof and timber-clad walls, replace windows, and remove and replace floor joists and partitions
25 Main Street Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1BU
Received 10 Apr 2012 - Decided12/258/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Lochside (Land Near) Sanday Orkney KW17 2BP
Received 10 Apr 2012 - Decided12/259/TPP
Erect a 20kW wind turbine (max height 22m)
Howe Farm (Land Near) Stromness Orkney KW16 3JU
Received 10 Apr 2012 - Decided12/260/PP
Erect a house and detached garage with ancillary accommodation
Valhalla (Land Near) Deerness Orkney KW17 2QQ
Received 10 Apr 2012 - Decided12/261/PP
Erect engineering contractor's general purpose storage shed
Greenwall (Land Near) Shapinsay Orkney KW17 2DY
Received 11 Apr 2012 - Decided12/262/PP
Demolish attached porch and shed, erect porch and kitchen extension with slate roof and timber-clad walls and replace windows
25 Main Street Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1BU
Received 11 Apr 2012 - Decided12/264/TPP
Erect 1 x 10kW wind turbine (max height 19.1m) and 1 x 6kW turbine (max height 18m)
Ramsquoy (Land Near) Stenness Orkney KW16 3EZ
Received 11 Apr 2012 - Decided12/265/PP
Demolish entrance porch, install timber storm doors, erect boundary wall, erect a steel-framed, curtain-glazed, flat-roofed conservatory on principal elevation, re-roof and replace rainwater goods on original building
Ayre Hotel Ayre Road Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1QX
Received 12 Apr 2012 - Decided12/266/AMC
Erect a replacement house and a detached boat shed
Walliwall (Land Near) Old Finstown Road Kirkwall Orkney
Received 12 Apr 2012 - Decided12/267/PP
Extend a house
Varhavn Heddle Road Finstown Orkney KW17 2EG
Received 13 Apr 2012 - Decided12/268/VR
Vary condition 11 of planning permission 11/771/TPP to allow short-term lets for the cottage up to a maximum of 12 weeks in total per annum
Blackawall Cottage (Land Near) Flotta
Received 13 Apr 2012 - Decided12/269/AD
Display an illuminated sign on standing stone, and flags on flagpoles
The Orkney Brewery Quoyloo Road Sandwick Stromness Orkney KW16 3LT
Received 13 Apr 2012 - Decided12/270/TPP
Erect a 20kW wind turbine (max height 27.2m)
Seal Cottage (Land Near) Orphir Orkney KW17 2RB
Received 16 Apr 2012 - Decided12/271/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Deithe (Land Near) Westside Road Rousay Orkney KW17 2PS
Received 16 Apr 2012 - Decided12/272/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Terramagus (Land Near) Rousay Orkney KW17 2PT
Received 16 Apr 2012 - Decided12/273/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Cruesday (Land Near) Rousay Orkney KW17 2PT
Received 16 Apr 2012 - Decided12/274/TPP
Erect 2 x 15kW wind turbines (max height 21m) (Amendment to 11/695/TPP)
Redland (Land Near) Stromness Orkney KW16 3LN
Received 16 Apr 2012 - Decided12/275/TPP
Erect a 15kW wind turbine (max height 21m)
Northskaill (Land Near) Sanday Orkney KW17 2AZ
Received 17 Apr 2012 - Decided12/276/AMC
Erect a replacement house with solar panels and a detached double garage
Cott Of Myre (Land Near) Sandwick Orkney
Received 17 Apr 2012 - Decided12/277/APN
Erect a GP shed
Rysa Farm Lyness Hoy Orkney KW16 3NU
Received 17 Apr 2012 - Decided12/278/PP
Demolish 2 existing non-domestic buildings and erect a replacement house with internal triple garage
Wideford Reservoir (Land Near) St Ola
Received 18 Apr 2012 - Decided12/279/TPP
Erect 5 x 10kW wind turbines (max height 19.1m) and a switchgear building
Ness (Land Near) Birsay Orkney KW17 2LZ
Received 18 Apr 2012 - Decided12/280/TPP
Erect 2 x 10kW wind turbines (max height 19.1m)
Vart-Tun (Land Near) Stromness Orkney
Received 18 Apr 2012 - Decided12/281/PP
Erect two greenhouses, fencing and change surface materials
CLAN 30A Victoria Street Kirkwall Orkney
Received 18 Apr 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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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