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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided12/358/PP
Extend a house
Olad South Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2RL
Received 11 May 2012 - Decided12/359/PP
Demolish part of existing house and extend
Green Hill Hoy Orkney KW16 3PG
Received 11 May 2012 - Decided12/360/TPP
Erect 2 x 5kW wind turbines (max height 17.8m)
Aikerness (Land Near) Evie Orkney
Received 14 May 2012 - Decided12/361/PP
Demolish part of a house, restore and extend remaining part and an adjoining house to form one house; and erect a replacement house with an air source heat pump and detached garage
Hillcrest/Valkyrie (Land Near) Rendall Orkney KW17 2HF
Received 14 May 2012 - Decided12/362/S36SCO
Scoping opinion request for proposed Section 36 application for the West Orkney South Wave Energy site
West Orkney South Wave Energy Site
Received 14 May 2012 - Decided12/363/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
Upper Stove (Land Near) Deerness Orkney KW17 2QJ
Received 14 May 2012 - Decided12/364/S36SCO
Scoping opinion request for proposed Section 36 application for the Costa Head wave farm
Costa Head Orkney
Received 14 May 2012 - Decided12/365/PP
Extend and alter existing house, erect an integral garage and install an air source heat pump
Lochside Stenness Orkney KW16 3HQ
Received 14 May 2012 - Withdrawn/Returned12/366/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Midmyre (Land Near) Sanday Orkney KW17 2BA
Received 14 May 2012 - Decided12/367/TPP
Erect 2 x 20kW wind turbines (max height 27.2m)
Berriedale Farm (Land Near) South Ronaldsay Orkney
Received 14 May 2012 - Decided12/368/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 18m)
Buan House (Land Near) Firth Orkney KW17 2ET
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/369/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 18m)
South Breck (Land Near) Firth Orkney KW17 2ET
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/370/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 18m)
Barebrecks (Land Near) Firth Orkney KW17 2ET
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/371/TPP
Erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m) - (NMV from a 10kW wind turbine, max height 19.1m)
North Unigarth (Land Near) Quoyloo Sandwick Orkney KW16 3LT
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/372/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
Dalvenna (Land Near) St Ola Orkney KW15 1SF
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/373/TPP
Erect 3 x 6kW wind turbines (max height 15m)
Lighthouse (Land Near) North Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2BG
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/374/TPP
Erect 2 x 6kW wind turbines (max height 15m)
Gerbo (Land Near) North Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2BE
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/375/TPP
Erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Sholtisquoy (Land Near) North Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2BG
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/376/TPP
Erect 2 x 6kW wind turbines (max height 15m)
Hooking (Land Near) North Ronaldsay Orkney
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/377/TPP
Erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Neven (Land Near) North Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2BG
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/378/TPP
Erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Old Church (Land Near) North Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2BG
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/379/TPP
Erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
New Church (Land Near) North Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2BG
Received 15 May 2012 - Decided12/380/TPP
Erect 3 x 5kW wind turbines (max height 18.2m)
Schoolha' (Land Near) Costa Evie Orkney KW17 2NJ
Received 16 May 2012 - Decided12/381/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m) (To supersede 3 turbines under planning permission 08/341/PPF)
North House (Land Near) Eday Orkney KW17 2AB
Received 16 May 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