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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided13/220/VR
Vary condition 13 of planning permission 11/275/PP to allow part of the development to be brought into use prior to completion of hard landscaping works
Former Warehouse & Land At Pierhead, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3AA
Received 22 May 2013 - Decided13/221/PP
Extend a house
Kinnmhor, Woodstock Road, Holm, Orkney, KW17 2SD
Received 22 May 2013 - Decided13/222/PP
Install 2 air source heat pumps
10 Laing Street / 25 Queen Street, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 23 May 2013 - Decided13/223/SCO
Scoping opinion request to erect a substation, associated earthworks and access
Bay Of Skaill (Land Near), Sandwick, Orkney
Received 27 May 2013 - Decided13/225/PP
Erect a house and install an air source heat pump
Polrudden (Land Near), Peerie Sea Loan, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1UH
Received 29 May 2013 - Decided13/226/PP
Retain portable unit and connecting corridor to existing surgery (following expiry of temporary planning permission 08/126/PP)
Stromness Dental Centre, Garson, Stromness
Received 30 May 2013 - Decided13/227/PP
Extend a house
Sandybank, Stronsay, Orkney, KW17 2AE
Received 30 May 2013 - Decided13/229/PP
Install a portable toilet with a concrete plinth and erect a screen fence
Flotta Church, Flotta, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3NP
Received 30 May 2013 - Decided13/230/PP
Create two new grass pitches
The Pickaquoy Centre (Land Near), Muddisdale Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1LR
Received 30 May 2013 - Decided13/231/PP
Erect a GP shed
Aikerness (Land Near), Aikerness Road, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2NH
Received 31 May 2013 - Decided13/232/PP
Erect an extension and alter door and windows
23 Main Street Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1BU
Received 31 May 2013 - Decided13/233/LB
Erect an extension, alter door and windows, and demolish lean-to
23 Main Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1BU
Received 31 May 2013 - Decided13/234/PIP
Siting of a house
Sultigeo (Land Near), Ireland Road, Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3LB
Received 3 Jun 2013 - Decided13/235/TPP
Erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
Coldomo (Land Near), Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3HA
Received 3 Jun 2013 - Decided13/236/TPP
Erect a 5kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
East Thorn (Land Near), Swartmill Road, Westray, Orkney, KW17 2DD
Received 3 Jun 2013 - Decided13/237/PP
Extend a house and install an air source heat pump
34 Royal Oak Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1RF
Received 4 Jun 2013 - Decided13/239/TPP
Erect a 20kW wind turbine (max height 27.2m) (Amend planning permission 11/688/TPP to erect a 20kW wind turbine (max height 20m)) (Retrospective)
Burness (Land Near), Westray, Orkney, KW17 2DW
Received 4 Jun 2013 - Decided13/240/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump for a rural business
Brough (Land Near), Toab, Orkney, KW17 2QG
Received 5 Jun 2013 - Decided13/241/PP
Create roads and install services for proposed business and industrial area
Hatston Pier (Land Near), Hatston Industrial Estate, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 6 Jun 2013 - Decided13/242/PP
Extend a house
Greenquoy, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2RN
Received 10 Jun 2013 - Decided13/243/MARREV
Review by Scottish Government on marine finfish farm on site at Chalmers Hope (consent by Crown Estates - prior to 2007)
Chalmers Hope, Scapa Flow
Received 10 Jun 2013 - Decided13/244/AD
Display two free-standing directional signs
Showroom (Land Near), 12 Scapa Court, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1BJ
Received 10 Jun 2013 - Decided13/245/PIP
Siting of a house
Teing (Land Near), Braeside, Swartmill Road, Westray, Orkney, KW17 2DD
Received 11 Jun 2013 - Decided13/246/TPP
Erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
Russland (Land Near), Cleat Road, Stronsay, Orkney, KW17 2AJ
Received 4 Jun 2013
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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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