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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided12/534/LB
Display a fascia sign
83 - 89 Victoria Street Stromness Orkney KW16 3BU
Received 10 Jul 2012 - Withdrawn/Returned12/535/TPP
Erect 2 x 5kW wind turbines (max height 18.2m)
Glenrae (Land Near) Scorradale Road Orphir Orkney KW17 2RF
Received 10 Jul 2012 - Decided12/536/TPP
Erect 2 x 5kW wind turbines (max height 18.2m)
Innister (Land Near) Wasbister Road Rousay Orkney KW17 2PS
Received 10 Jul 2012 - Decided12/537/PP
Erect a house with integral garage and install an air source heat pump for a farm worker/lorry driver (Amendment to 11/489/PIP)
Upper Hobbister (Land Near) Stenness Orkney KW17 3HG
Received 10 Jul 2012 - Decided12/538/PP
Change of use from office to visual and creative centre, including gallery, craft shop and small workshops for visiting artists and rooms for workshops, seminars and classes
46 Victoria Street Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1DN
Received 12 Jul 2012 - Decided12/539/PP
Extend existing slatted court, comprising cattle housing and underground slurry store
Pole Ness Road Burray Orkney KW17 2TA
Received 12 Jul 2012 - Decided12/540/VR
Vary condition 2 of planning permission 10/619/PP to extend the opening hours of the all-weather pitch from 09:00-21:00 to 09:00-21:30, and extend the time the floodlights are turned off from 21:15 to 21:45
The Pickaquoy Centre, Muddisdale Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1LR
Received 13 Jul 2012 - Decided12/541/PP
Demolish existing house and erect a replacement house
Midquoy, Orphir, Orkney, KW17 2RE
Received 13 Jul 2012 - Decided12/542/PIP
Siting of a house
Makerhouse (Land Near) Dounby KW17 2HS
Received 14 Jul 2012 - Decided12/543/PP
Erect a house with integral double garage and install an air source heat pump
Coplands Road (Plot 19) (Land Near) Stromness Orkney KW16 3BW
Received 14 Jul 2012 - Decided12/544/LB
Remove internal ingoes, sills and window frames; fit replacement window frames with double glazed decorative panel; and make good surrounding plasterwork and decoration
St Magnus Church The Palace Birsay Orkney KW17 2LX
Received 14 Jul 2012 - Decided12/545/PP
Create a serviced house site and associated works, including road widening
Eastbrae (Land Near) Stromness Orkney KW16 3HS
Received 14 Jul 2012 - Decided12/546/PP
Create 4 serviced house sites and associated works, including road widening (Amendment to 11/299/PIP)
Eastbrae (Land Near) Stromness Orkney KW16 3HS
Received 14 Jul 2012 - Decided12/547/PP
Install an air source heat pump
Murrayfield Old Finstown Road Finstown Orkney KW17 2EJ
Received 16 Jul 2012 - Decided12/548/TPP
Erect a 15kW wind turbine (max height 21m)
Midhouse (Land Near) Mirbister Harray Orkney KW17 2HZ
Received 16 Jul 2012 - Decided12/549/CLOPUD
Site 3 steel containers and an electrical transformer equipment housing unit with associated above ground cabling, in connection with a proposed energy storage facility
Kirkwall Power Station Great Western Road Kirkwall Orkney
Received 17 Jul 2012 - Withdrawn/Returned12/550/TPP
Erect 3 x 5kW wind turbines (max height 17.8m)
Water Treatment Works (Land Near) North Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2BG
Received 17 Jul 2012 - Decided12/551/TPP
Erect 3 x 5kW wind turbines (max height 17.8m)
Water Treatment Works (Land Near), Stronsay, Orkney, KW17 2AR
Received 18 Jul 2012 - Decided12/552/MARSCO
Scoping and screening opinion request to locate a marine pen fish farm (salmon), comprising 8 x 90m circumference cages set in a 2 x 4 formation with a 50m grid
Glimps Holm Scapa Flow Orkney
Received 18 Jul 2012 - Decided12/553/PIP
Demolish existing house and siting of a replacement house
New Cott (Land Near) Stenness Orkney
Received 19 Jul 2012 - Decided12/554/PP
Erect a replacement house with an air source heat pump and erect a detached garage
Wideford Farm (Land Near), St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SS
Received 19 Jul 2012 - Decided12/555/PP
Install replacement corrugated sheet roofing and wall cladding, replace all windows with timber double glazed windows, install metal rainwater goods, and display a raised sign
Wishart's Hardware 14 Victoria Street Stromness Orkney KW16 3AA
Received 19 Jul 2012 - Decided12/556/TPP
Erect a 50kW wind turbine (max height 29.9m)
Mount Pleasant (Land Near) Haybrake Road South Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2TJ
Received 19 Jul 2012 - Decided12/557/TPP
Erect a 10kW wind turbine (max height 19.1m)
Quivals (Land Near) Sanday Orkney KW17 2AY
Received 20 Jul 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
All planning guides
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Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.
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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