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9,644 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided25/156/PP
Erect an agricultural shed
Ferneybrae, Mill Bay Road, Eday, Orkney KW17 2AB
Received 30 Apr 2025 - Decided25/157/HH
Re-roof including replacement ridge tiles, rooflights and roof vents, alter openings, install new and replacement doors, demolish part of outbuilding, lay flagstones, and install gate and pergola (part retrospective)
2 Dundas Crescent, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1JQ
Received 30 Apr 2025 - Decided25/158/PP
Convert a tearoom and flat to a house and extend, remove attached outbuildings, install rooflights and replacement windows and doors
19 Graham Place, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3BY
Received 1 May 2025 - Decided25/159/PP
Re-roof and install replacement windows and doors
Cross Church, Sanday, Orkney KW17 2AY
Received 2 May 2025 - Decided25/160/PP
Change of use from a flat to a self-catering unit
Flat 2, 22 Bignold Park Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1PT
Received 2 May 2025 - Decided25/161/PP
Convert a redundant building (wartime cinema) to a house, construct an access track, and upgrade an access
Old Cinema, Former Aerodrome, Sandwick, Orkney
Received 5 May 2025 - Decided25/162/HH
Remove stone slates from one roof plane, and re-roof
8 Warrens Walk, Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1DX
Received 5 May 2025 - Decided25/163/CLOPUD
Remove chimney stack
45 Clay Loan, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1QG
Received 6 May 2025 - Withdrawn/Returned25/164/HH
Extend a house
Forsakelda, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2HP
Received 6 May 2025 - Decided25/165/HH
Extend a house
Nearhouse Cottage, Groatsetter Road, St Andrews, Orkney KW17 2QT
Received 6 May 2025 - Decided25/166/PP
Erect an agricultural shed including slurry storage
Lower Cornquoy, Cornquoy Road, Holm, Orkney KW17 2SD
Received 7 May 2025 - Decided25/167/HH
Install a dormer window
Sunardee, Hillside Road, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3HR
Received 7 May 2025 - Decided25/168/HH
Install a dormer window
Lerquoy, Outertown Road, Stromness Parish, Orkney KW16 3JP
Received 7 May 2025 - Unknown25/169/PN
Peat restoration
Birsay Moors Nature Reserve
Received 30 Apr 2025 - Unknown24/113/NMV/01
Amend colour or windows and door from anthracite grey to golden oak
Myrtle Cottage Newark Road Harray Orkney Islands KW17 2JT
Received 16 Apr 2025 - Decided25/170/AD
Display fascia sign and lettering on gable
Highland Park, 58 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1HQ
Received 12 May 2025 - Decided25/171/PP
Paint shop front and gable wall and change signage
Highland Park, 58 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1HQ
Received 12 May 2025 - Decided25/172/VR
Vary condition 06 (access construction) of planning permission 17/539/PP to amend details of access construction
Skyran, Shop Road, Hoy, Orkney KW16 3NJ
Received 12 May 2025 - Decided25/173/LB
Paint timber-clad walls and alter fascia sign
Stromness Hotel, 15 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3AA
Received 14 May 2025 - Unknown24/305/NMV/01
Amendments to reduce window-wall height (3.66m to 3m to meet u-value), change to an ASHP (due to geology), and energy efficient garage design
Whitelett, Ness Road, Westray, Orkney KW17 2DE
Received 16 Apr 2025 - Decided25/174/PP
Erect a house (replace a redundant house, one for one) and create an access (resubmission of 24/469/PP)
Fidgarth (Land Near), Fidgarth Road, Birsay, Orkney KW17 2LR
Received 15 May 2025 - Decided25/175/PP
Erect two houses (amendment to 19/255/PP) (retrospective)
Morvean (Land Near), Berstane Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1SZ
Received 16 May 2025 - Decided25/176/PP
Erect a house with an integral garage and air source heat pump (re-submission of 25/070/PP)
30 Coplands Drive (Land Near), Stromness, Orkney KW16 3BN
Received 16 May 2025 - Decided25/177/PP
Erect a self-catering pod with decking, parking, and associated landscaping
Merranblo, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3LL
Received 19 May 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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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