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
Explore collected planning applications and decisions for Orkney Islands. Search an address, application reference or proposal to find a record.
9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.
Contact details were found on council pages. Check the source for opening hours and which enquiries the service handles.
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.
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.
Mill Hope Caravan (Land Near) Eday Orkney
Received 4 May 2012Buckan (Land Near) Sandwick Orkney KW16 3HY
Received 4 May 2012108A Victoria Street Stromness Orkney KW16 3BU
Received 4 May 2012Helziegitha (Land Near) Wyre Orkney KW17 2QA
Received 4 May 2012The Banx (Land Near) St Ola Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1SS
Received 4 May 2012Brance (Land Near) Grimness South Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2TH
Received 8 May 2012138 Victoria Street Stromness Orkney KW16 3BU
Received 8 May 2012Orkney Mechanical Services Ltd (Land Near) Crowness Road Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1RG
Received 8 May 2012Flaws (Land Near) Evie Orkney
Received 8 May 2012Mount Pleasant (Land Near) Mount Pleasant (Land Near) Orkney KW17 2TJ
Received 8 May 2012Upper Scapa (Land Near) St Ola Orkney KW15 1SD
Received 8 May 201227 Alfred Street Stromness Orkney Islands KW16 3DF
Received 8 May 2012School House Kirbister Stromness Orkney KW16 3HU
Received 8 May 2012Bankburn House (Land Near) South Ronaldsay Orkney
Received 8 May 2012Kingsdale (Land Near) Firth Orkney
Received 9 May 2012Krogjar (Land Near) Deerness Orkney KW17 2QH
Received 9 May 2012Work Farm (Land Near) Work Road St Ola Orkney
Received 9 May 2012Scapa Studios 8 Alfred Street Stromness Orkney KW16 3DF
Received 9 May 2012Scapa Studio 8 Alfred Street Stromness Orkney KW16 3DF
Received 10 May 2012Guide Hall Thoms Street Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1PF
Received 10 May 2012Turriedale (Land Near) Evie Orkney KW17 2PJ
Received 10 May 20124 Graham Place (Land Near) Stromness Orkney KW16 3BY
Received 10 May 2012Quoyloo Cottage (Land Near) Quoyloo Orkney KW16 3LU
Received 10 May 2012Newbigging Cottage Papa Westray Orkney KW17 2BU
Received 10 May 2012Records are ordered by application ID, not submission date. Use search to find a particular address or proposal.
View all applicationsStart 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 applications
Understanding planning · 13 min read
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.

Understanding planning · 13 min read
Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.

Property research · 13 min read
Understand planning approval rates with an interactive calculator, worked examples and comparison table. Check sample sizes, outcomes and coverage before comparing.
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