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9,639 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided16/209/PP
Extend shed
The Bowling Green, Dounby, Sandwick, Orkney
Received 10 May 2016 - Decided16/210/PP
Erect a house with an integral garage and an air source heat pump for a farm worker
Withaquoy (Land Near), Holm, Orkney, KW17 2RY
Received 11 May 2016 - Decided16/211/PP
Extend golf club
Orkney Golf Club, Hatston Brae, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1UA
Received 11 May 2016 - Decided16/212/SCR
Coastal protection works
Crow Ness, Hatston, Kirkwall
Received 12 May 2016 - Decided16/213/HH
Extend a house
Maberlea, Newark Road, St Andrews, Orkney, KW17 2QT
Received 13 May 2016 - Decided16/214/AMC
Erect a house with an air source heat pump (following permission in principle - 13/512/PIP)
Daisybank (Plot 2), Berstane Road, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 13 May 2016 - Decided16/215/PP
Erect a slatted byre
Grutha (Land Near), Lowertown Road, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2TL
Received 13 May 2016 - Withdrawn/Returned16/216/PP
Erect a storage shed (retrospective)
A Tait & Sons, Dounby, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2HT
Received 13 May 2016 - Decided16/217/PIP
Siting of a house (subdivision of curtilage)
Rosemont, Stratheast Road, Holm, Orkney, KW17 2SA
Received 16 May 2016 - Decided16/218/APN
Re-roof slatted byre
North Bigging, Dounby, Orkney, KW17 2HZ
Received 16 May 2016 - Decided16/219/PP
Change of use of land from agricultural to domestic and erect a GP shed
Heathcott, Old Finstown Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1TR
Received 17 May 2016 - Decided16/220/AMC
Erect a house with an integral garage (following permission in principle - 15/603/PIP)
Garth, South Ronaldsay
Received 17 May 2016 - Decided16/221/PP
Erect two houses, install three air source heat pumps, paint existing house, and reinstate railings and gate
2 King Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NN
Received 18 May 2016 - Decided16/222/LB
Reinstate railings and gate, paint walls, demolish modern porch, greenhouse and garage, restore stone outbuilding, install air source heat pump, and internal alterations
2 King Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NN
Received 18 May 2016 - Decided16/223/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump
Plot 15, 2 Cusiter Close, Watersfield, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 18 May 2016 - Decided16/224/PP
Create an access and hardstanding area
Well Park, Stromness
Received 18 May 2016 - Decided16/225/APN
Erect a GP shed
Rennibister (Land Near), Firth, Orkney, KW15 1TX
Received 19 May 2016 - Decided16/226/PP
Erect a house with an integral garage and an air source heat pump.
Queen Elizabeth Way (Plot 16), Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 19 May 2016 - Decided16/227/HH
Extend a house
1 Weyland Park, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1LP
Received 19 May 2016 - Decided16/228/HH
Re-roof house and garage and landscape garden area.
Ardage, Burray, Orkney KW17 2SS
Received 20 May 2016 - Decided16/229/APN
Erect a GP shed and upgrade access
Midhouse (Land Near), Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2LR
Received 23 May 2016 - Decided16/230/HH
Extend a house and erect a detached garage
2 South Moa, Rendall, Orkney, KW17 2PB
Received 23 May 2016 - Decided16/231/HH
Erect a fence (retrospective)
24 High Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1AZ
Received 23 May 2016 - Decided16/232/LB
Erect a fence and create a path (retrospective)
24 High Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1AZ
Received 23 May 2016
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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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