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9,644 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided25/178/REG62
Regulation 62 application to carry out development granted by a general development order, to install an underground cable
Warebeth - Finstown
Received 20 May 2025 - Decided25/179/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump
Shore Side, Greenfield, St Andrews, Orkney
Received 20 May 2025 - Decided25/180/LB
Install replacement ATM and alter window opening
The Royal Bank Of Scotland, 1 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1DP
Received 21 May 2025 - Decided25/181/VR
Vary condition 01 (materials) of planning permission 16/047/PP to amend roof finish to tiles
Westerbister (Land Near), Holm, Orkney
Received 19 May 2025 - Decided25/183/PP
Erect 41 houses with air source heat pumps, and associated landscaping (following planning permission 22/122/PP to construct roads and footpaths)
Walliwall (Phase 4) (Land Near), Old Finstown Road, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 21 May 2025 - Decided25/184/PP
Convert a shipping container to a self-catering unit
Sillerha, Tankerness Hall Road, Tankerness, St Andrews, Orkney KW17 2QR
Received 22 May 2025 - Decided25/185/PP
Erect a house (attached to existing swimming pool), erect two self-catering pods, five sleeping pods, an amenity block (kitchen, toilets and showers), and a public house, create a camping area, install a communal foul drainage system and associated parking and landscaping
Greenfield, Rousay, Orkney KW17 2PU
Received 22 May 2025 - Decided25/187/PP
Erect a storage shed (log store)
Rossmyre (Land Near), Old Finstown Road, Firth, Orkney, KW15 1TS
Received 26 May 2025 - Awaiting decision25/188/SCO
Scoping opinion request to erect four wind turbines (maximum height 200 metres) (total generating capacity 30MW)
Burgar Hill Turbines, Georth Road, Evie, Orkney
Received 26 May 2025 - Decided25/189/LB
Remove lighting head, bracket and cabling, and point fixing holes with lime mortar
80 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BS
Received 27 May 2025 - Decided25/190/LB
Remove lighting head, bracket and cabling and restore, fill holes with lime mortar
Pierhouse, 40 Dundas Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BZ
Received 27 May 2025 - Decided25/191/PP
Reinstate a house
2 Quoyburray Farm, St Andrews, Orkney KW17 2QU
Received 27 May 2025 - Decided25/192/LB
Remove lighting head, bracket and cabling and restore, fill holes with lime mortar
22 St Catherine's Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HX
Received 27 May 2025 - Decided25/193/LB
Remove lighting head, bracket and cabling, and point fixing holes with lime mortar
20 St Catherine's Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HX
Received 27 May 2025 - Decided25/194/PP
Erect a replica Viking longhouse
Kirbuster Museum (Land Near), Hundland Road, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2LW
Received 28 May 2025 - Unknown25/195/APN
Erect a GP shed
Heathercow, Essonquoy, Eday, Orkney KW17 2AB
Received 2 Jun 2025 - Decided25/196/HH
Erect a dometic garage
Navnlos Hus, 3 Sutherland Drive, St Marys, Holm, Orkney KW17 2SG
Received 2 Jun 2025 - Decided25/197/CLOPUD
Change of use from retail (Class 1A) to food production (Class 4)
Mistra Shop And Post Office, Evie Village, Evie, Orkney KW17 2PJ
Received 2 Jun 2025 - Decided25/198/HH
Remove sheet glass lights, and install replacement roof lights and vents
7 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1HP
Received 2 Jun 2025 - Unknown24/137/NMV/01
Amend Access Ramp Location
Orkney Zerowaste 2 Garson Place Stromness Orkney Islands KW16 3EE
Received 2 Jun 2025 - Unknown24/112/NMV/01
Amend window and door colour to anthracite grey
Site 3 Ruahine (Land Near), Hillside Road, Stromness
Received 3 Jun 2025 - Withdrawn/Returned25/199/TPP
Erect three wind turbines (maximum height 18 metres) and construct an access track
Ferneybrae, Mill Bay Road, Eday, Orkney
Received 5 Jun 2025 - Decided25/202/AD
Display two signs (at entrance and on gable)
Albert Hotel Mounthoolie Place Kirkwall Orkney Islands KW15 1HW
Received 6 Jun 2025 - Awaiting decision25/203/TPPMAJ
Erect five wind turbines (maximum height of 180 metres), and battery energy storage system (maximum combined capacity 49.9 MW), a substation, external transformers, and associated infrastructure including access tracks, crane hardstandings, temporary laydown areas, underground cabling, and borrow pit
Land Near Greentoft/Neven Point, Eday, Orkney
Received 6 Jun 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
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