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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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: 14 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided15/384/APN
Erect a GP shed
Newcott, Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3HA
Received 4 Aug 2015 - Decided15/385/PP
Erect a garage (amendment to 15/298/PP)
Vinnaquoy, Toab, Orkney, KW17 2QG
Received 4 Aug 2015 - Withdrawn/Returned15/386/PP
Erect 6 houses with air source heat pumps and create accesses
Grainayre (Land Near), Hatston, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 5 Aug 2015 - Decided15/387/PP
Extend a house
Newbigging, Swartland Road, Sandwick, Orkney, KW17 2JQ
Received 5 Aug 2015 - Decided15/388/PP
Create ramped access to church, form an access and create a parking area
St Columbas Church, Longhope, Hoy, Orkney
Received 5 Aug 2015 - Decided15/389/LB
Create ramped access to church
St Columbas Church, Longhope, Hoy, Orkney
Received 6 Aug 2015 - Decided15/391/PP
Erect workshop, office and heritage centre, incorporating existing wall, create a parking area, and install sewage treatment and install air source heat pump (part retrospective) (amendment to 13/080/PP)
Lobster Ponds, Whitehall, Stronsay, Orkney
Received 10 Aug 2015 - Decided15/392/PN
Remove 4 antenna, install 3 antenna and 3 remote radio units on existing mast
Maraquoy (Land Near), Bruna Lea Hill, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3JU
Received 11 Aug 2015 - Decided15/374/LB
Install replacement rooflights
Flat 2, Ivy House, 1 Bridge Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1LD
Received 10 Aug 2015 - Decided15/394/TPP
Change of use to craft workshop and studio and extend, erect a greenhouse and erect a 6kW wind turbine (max height 17.8m)
Quoys, Papa Westray, Orkney, KW17 2BU
Received 11 Aug 2015 - Decided15/395/TPP
Erect 2 x 6kW wind turbines (max height 14.8m) (resubmission following withdrawal of 15/203/TPP)
Lyde (Land Near), Lyde Road, Rendall, Orkney, KW17 2PA
Received 11 Aug 2015 - Withdrawn/Returned15/393/MARSS
Screening and scoping request to create a salmon fish farm
East Of Skelwick Skerry, Westray, Orkney
Received 13 Aug 2015 - Decided15/396/PP
Install an oil tank
30 Dundas Crescent, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1PS
Received 14 Aug 2015 - Decided15/397/VR
Vary condition 10 and 11 of planning permission 11/703/TPP to change wording from 'Prior to any development works' to 'Prior to commissioning of the turbine' to agree a methodology for monitoring bird strikes and amend duration of consent from 25 years from date of previous consent to 25 years from the commissioning of the turbine
Ludenhill Farm (Land Near), Stoneymildars, Swannay, Orkney, KW17 2NR
Received 14 Aug 2015 - Decided15/398/PIP
Siting of a replacement house and create an access
West Puldrite (Land Near), Puldrite Road, Rendall, Orkney, KW17 2PB
Received 14 Aug 2015 - Decided15/399/PP
Install air source heat pumps and solar panels to 12 houses and construct bin stores associated with 25 houses (amendment to 13/325/PPMAJ)
Watersfield (Land Near), Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 14 Aug 2015 - Decided15/400/LB
Convert redundant mill to a house, demolish modern structures, re-roof, install timber windows and doors and erect a porch
Greenwall Mill, Greenwall Road, Holm, Orkney, KW17 2SD
Received 17 Aug 2015 - Decided15/401/PP
Reinstate a house and extend and create an access
Sandybank (Land Near), Stronsay, Orkney, KW17 2AE
Received 17 Aug 2015 - Decided15/402/PP
Erect a GP shed (retrospective)
Norton Farm, Dounby, Orkney
Received 19 Nov 2015 - Decided15/403/PP
Install 3 air source heat pumps
36 Main Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1JH
Received 17 Aug 2015 - Decided15/404/PP
Erect 6 houses with air source heat pumps and create accesses
Birness (Land Near), Swartland Road, Dounby, Orkney, KW17 2JQ
Received 17 Aug 2015 - Decided15/405/PP
Install an air source heat pump
Davanco, Bignold Park Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1PT
Received 18 Aug 2015 - Decided15/406/PP
Extend a house and erect a detached garage
Weardeth, Hutter Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3HU
Received 19 Aug 2015 - Decided15/407/AMC
Erect a house (subdivision of domestic curtilage) with detached garage, install an air source heat pump and create an access (following permission in principle - 15/079/PIP)
Kransa (Land Near), St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SB
Received 19 Aug 2015
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
Understanding planning · 13 min read
Planning permission drawings: how to read plans
Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.
UK researchPublished Updated
Property research · 13 min read
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.
UK researchPublished Updated
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