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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided12/584/LB
Part-demolish existing lean-to, and erect pitched roof single storey extension, with natural slate roof, rooflights, timber clad walls, and timber windows and doors
23 Main Street Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1BU
Received 3 Aug 2012 - Decided12/585/PP
Part-demolish existing lean-to, and erect pitched roof single storey extension, with natural slate roof, rooflights, timber clad walls, and timber windows and doors
23 Main Street Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1BU
Received 3 Aug 2012 - Decided12/586/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15.1m)
Downies (Land Near) Deerness Orkney
Received 6 Aug 2012 - Decided12/587/PP
Erect a garage
Brin Novan Costa Evie Orkney
Received 6 Aug 2012 - Decided12/588/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
Commons Of Quindry (Land Near), Hoxa Road, St Margaret's Hope, Orkney
Received 6 Aug 2012 - Decided12/589/TPP
Erect a 3.5kW wind turbine (max height 13m)
Ervadale Cottage (Land Near) Rousay Orkney KW17 2PL
Received 6 Aug 2012 - Decided12/590/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
Ladybank (Land Near), Sanday, Orkney
Received 6 Aug 2012 - Decided12/591/PP
Re-roof, re-harl external walls, replace rainwater goods and install new rooflights
15 Dundas Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BZ
Received 6 Aug 2012 - Decided12/592/SCR
Screening opinion request to erect a 500kW wind turbine (max height 47m)
Rysa (Land Near) Lyness Orkney
Received 7 Aug 2012 - Decided12/593/PN
Install additional pole and 11,000 volt overhead line
Blackawall (Land Near) Flotta Orkney
Received 8 Aug 2012 - Appeal decided12/594/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
East Silverhall (Land Near) Sanday Orkney
Received 8 Aug 2012 - Decided12/595/TPN
Erect a 10kW wind turbine (max height 18.5m)
Smoogro House (Land Near) Orphir Orkney
Received 10 Aug 2012 - Decided12/596/PP
Erect a store
Sheila Fleet Jewellery Gransetter Road Tankerness Orkney KW17 2QT
Received 10 Aug 2012 - Decided12/597/TPP
Erect a 10kW wind turbine (max height 19m)
Gaira (Land Near), South Ronaldsay, Orkney
Received 10 Aug 2012 - Decided12/598/TPP
Erect 2 x 20kW wind turbines (max height 27.2m)
Cruan (Land Near), Cruan Road, Firth, Orkney
Received 14 Aug 2012 - Withdrawn/Returned12/599/TPP
Amend proposal to Erect 3 x 0.5mW wind turbines (max height 56m) and a switchgear building (previously proposed 3 x 0.9mW wind turbines (max height 67m))
Skeabrae (Land Near), Sandwick, Orkney
Received 15 Aug 2012 - Decided12/600/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Annabreck (Land Near), Sanday, Orkney
Received 16 Aug 2012 - Decided12/601/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Midmyre (Land Near), Sanday, Orkney
Received 16 Aug 2012 - Decided12/602/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Schoolhouse (Land Near), Sanday, Orkney
Received 16 Aug 2012 - Decided12/603/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 15m)
Otterswick (Land Near), Sanday, Orkney
Received 16 Aug 2012 - Withdrawn/Returned12/604/PP
Erect a fence to divide the garden from 3 Khyber Pass (retrospective)
4 Khyber Pass, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3DB
Received 17 Aug 2012 - Decided12/605/PP
Erect a detached extension (annexe) within the curtilage of the house
Kenwood, Nearhouse Road, Harray, Orkney KW17 2JT
Received 17 Aug 2012 - Decided12/606/PP
Extend a house
Halden, Garson Drive, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3JG
Received 17 Aug 2012 - Decided12/607/EB
Install an additional pole on the existing 11,000 volt overhead line
Blackawall (Land Near), Flotta, Orkney
Received 20 Aug 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