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 dates11,981Searchable applications
138Recorded as pending
96%Approval rate · 10,078 approved or refused records
434Refused applications
9,644 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 24 Sept 1979 to 5 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 16 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided25/100/HH
Extend a house and erect a fence
3 Robertson Loan, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1GQ
Received 18 Mar 2025 - Decided25/101/HH
Erect a domestic shed
Pictail, Horries Road, Deerness, Orkney KW17 2QL
Received 19 Mar 2025 - Decided79/442/PP
Erect a garage
10 Thoms Street Kirkwall Orkney Islands KW15 1PF
Received 24 Sept 1979 - Decided25/104/PP
Construct replacement internal road and upgrade access
Birsay Outdoor Centre And Campsite, Birsay, Orkney KW17 2LY
Received 21 Mar 2025 - Decided25/105/HH
Extend a house and erect a shed
1 Highbury Villas, East Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1HT
Received 24 Mar 2025 - Unknown19/255/NMV/01
Amend window to door, add rooflights and solar panels, and amend cladding (Plot A)
Morvean (Land Near), Berstane Road, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 18 Mar 2025 - Unknown23/141/NMV/01
Amend garage cladding and door height
Coubister House, Burness Road, Firth, Orkney, KW17 2ET
Received 24 Mar 2025 - Decided25/106/LB
Install replacement roof and wall sheeting
Highland Park Distillery, Holm Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1SU
Received 24 Mar 2025 - Decided25/107/PP
Install replacement roof and wall sheeting
Highland Park Distillery, Holm Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1SU
Received 24 Mar 2025 - Decided25/108/PP
Change of use of part of car park to a hot food takeaway van site (retrospective)
Ayre Mills Car Park, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 25 Mar 2025 - Decided25/109/PP
Erect an agricultural shed
Midway (Land Near), Holm, Orkney KW17 2RZ
Received 25 Mar 2025 - Decided25/111/PP
Install 100 portable residential units (class 7), shower units, toilet units and generators within car park, install fencing and install a storage container (temporary for two months for Orkney Island Games 2025) (resubmission of 24/479/PP)
UHI Orkney, East Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1LX
Received 26 Mar 2025 - Decided25/112/PP
Change of use of land from agricultural to domestic
Millhouse, Evie, Orkney KW17 2NJ
Received 28 Mar 2025 - Decided25/113/HH
Paint windows, doors and railings, re-point wall and re-roof outbuilding (part retrospective)
5 East Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HZ
Received 28 Mar 2025 - Decided25/114/LB
Paint windows, doors and railings, re-paint wall and re-roof outbuilding (part retrospective)
5 East Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HZ
Received 28 Mar 2025 - Decided25/115/PP
Paint windows
The Flat, 11 Broad Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DH
Received 31 Mar 2025 - Decided25/117/WL
Install horizontal directional drills
Warebeth And Seabed Offshore, Stromness, Orkney
Received 25 Mar 2025 - Withdrawn/Returned25/119/VR
Vary condition 06 (retention of stone boundary wall) of planning permission 19/255/PP (to form gate)
Morvean (Land Near), Berstane Road, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 2 Apr 2025 - Decided25/120/HH
Extend a house
Sanola, Bignold Park Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1PT
Received 3 Apr 2025 - Decided25/121/LB
Install replacement windows
Kyloe Partners, 33 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1HL
Received 3 Apr 2025 - Decided25/122/PP
Erect a toilet block and siting of a seasonal hot food takeaway van
Skara Brae Visitors Centre, Sandwick, Orkney KW16 3LR
Received 4 Apr 2025 - Decided25/123/PP
Sub-division of curtilage, erect a house with an air source heat pump, and upgrade an access
Skelbist (Land Near), Berstane Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1SZ
Received 7 Apr 2025 - Decided25/124/PP
Change of use of land to domestic and erect a garage with air source heat pump (in association with 20/360/PP)
Lower Valley, Smoogro Road, Orphir, Orkney KW17 2RB
Received 7 Apr 2025 - Decided25/125/PN
Install a pole
Diamonds (Land Near), Stove Road, Deerness, Orkney
Received 3 Apr 2025
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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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