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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided14/059/PP
Demolish part of existing buildings and refurbish remaining buildings to form 6 one-bedroom dwellings and construct car park
Glaitness Farmhouse, Glaitness Road, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 3 Feb 2014 - Decided14/060/PP
Replace doors and windows, replace section of flat roof covering and install a bicycle rack
Sandwick Community Hall, Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3JE
Received 3 Feb 2014 - Decided14/061/PP
Demolish existing garage and erect 3 flats
11 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HP
Received 6 Feb 2014 - Decided14/062/PP
Alterations to partially built house, erect a detached garage and convert garage to ancillary residential use
Holly Bank, Church Road, St Margarets Hope, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2SR
Received 6 Feb 2014 - Decided14/063/PP
Erect a house and install an air source heat pump
5 Jubilee Court, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1XR
Received 6 Feb 2014 - Decided14/065/LB
Display individually-mounted painted lettering and a projecting sign
24 Bridge Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HR
Received 10 Feb 2014 - Decided14/066/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump
1 Robertson Loan, Watersfield (Plot 6) (Land Near), Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 10 Feb 2014 - Decided14/067/AMC
Demolish existing house and erect a replacement house with an air source heat pump (following permission in principle - 10/332/PIP)
Brims, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2PF
Received 10 Feb 2014 - Decided14/068/PP
Replace roof covering with Welsh slates and install replacement metal rainwater goods
44 Dundas Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BZ
Received 12 Feb 2014 - Decided14/069/PP
Extend a house
Quoycrow, Dounby, Orkney, KW17 2HT
Received 13 Feb 2014 - Decided14/070/PP
Erect a GP shed for purposes ancillary to the adjacent dwellinghouse
Glowerowerum, Innertown, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3JP
Received 13 Feb 2014 - Decided14/071/TPP
Erect 3 x 5kW wind turbines (max height 17.8m)
Bu Point Waste Water Treatment Works (Land Near), Stromness, Orkney
Received 14 Feb 2014 - Decided14/072/PP
Erect a slatted court
Drydale, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3HU
Received 14 Feb 2014 - Decided14/073/PP
Extend hotel kitchen and garage and install a balcony
Standing Stones Hotel, Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3JX
Received 14 Feb 2014 - Decided14/074/PP
Demolish agricultural shed and erect a feed store
Vetquoy, Sandwick, Orkney, KW17 2JF
Received 17 Feb 2014 - Decided14/075/PP
Erect a single story extension to house Computed Tomography (CT) scanner.
Balfour Hospital, New Scapa Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1BH
Received 17 Feb 2014 - Decided14/076/PP
Change of use from residential care home to guest house (incorporating serviced accommodation) and create art studio/gallery
Highland Park House, Lynn Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1SU
Received 17 Feb 2014 - Decided14/077/PIP
Siting of a house
High Tor (Land Near), Annfield Crescent, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NS
Received 17 Feb 2014 - Decided14/078/PP
Demolish an existing shed and erect an agricultural building with a slatted tank
Westshore, Ness Road, Rendall, Orkney, KW17 2PB
Received 17 Feb 2014 - Decided14/079/PP
Install an air source heat pump
The Cottage, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1JG
Received 10 Feb 2014 - Decided14/080/PP
Change of use from a domestic outbuilding to a self catering unit
Craigiefield Farm, Craigiefield Road, St Ola, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1UJ
Received 19 Feb 2014 - Decided14/081/PP
Install 3 air source heat pumps
Lindisfarne, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3EX
Received 20 Feb 2014 - Decided14/082/PP
Erect a garage and detached domestic workshop
Tornaveen, East Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1LY
Received 20 Feb 2014 - Decided14/083/PP
Erect a house
Castlehill (Land Near), Stronsay, Orkney
Received 21 Feb 2014
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