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
137Recorded as pending
96%Approval rate · 10,076 approved or refused records
434Refused applications
9,642 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided18/115/HH
Extend a house, install an air source heat pump and erect a detached garage
The Anchorage, Annfield Crescent, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NS
Received 26 Mar 2018 - Decided18/116/HH
Erect a domestic shed
Forsakelda, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2HP
Received 26 Mar 2018 - Decided18/117/PP
Install an air source heat pump (retrospective)
20 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HP
Received 26 Mar 2018 - Decided18/118/LB
Install an air source heat pump (retrospective)
20 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HP
Received 26 Mar 2018 - Decided18/119/HH
Extend a house
Burnside, Germiston Road, Orphir, Orkney, KW16 3HD
Received 27 Mar 2018 - Decided18/121/LB
Extend garage, amend windows and doors and install timber cladding (following 17/243/LB)
Breck Farm (Land Near), Rendall, Orkney, KW17 2EZ
Received 27 Mar 2018 - Decided18/122/PP
Change of use of part of restaurant (Class 3) to a shop (Class 1)
The Pier Restaurant, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PU
Received 28 Mar 2018 - Decided18/123/PP
Create a hardstanding and install a bench
Lower Cottascarth Farm (Land Near), Cottasgarth, Rendall, Orkney
Received 28 Mar 2018 - Decided18/124/PP
Erect a replacement house (one for one) with an integral garage, install an air source heat pump and create an access
Leafea, Outertown, Stromness, Orkney
Received 30 Mar 2018 - Decided18/125/PP
Erect a house with an integral garage and an air source heat pump
Plot 6 Grainepark, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 30 Mar 2018 - Decided18/126/PP
Erect a replacement house (one for one) with an integral garage and an air source heat pump, and create an access
Sunnyside (Land Near), Ness Road, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2JS
Received 30 Mar 2018 - Decided18/127/AMC
Erect a house with integral garage and install an air source heat pump (following permission in principle - 16/578/PIP)
Sunnyside (Plot 7), St Ola, Orkney
Received 2 Apr 2018 - Decided18/128/PIP
Siting of a replacement house and create an access (one for one)
Scarrataing, Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3JB
Received 2 Apr 2018 - Decided18/129/APN
Erect a GP shed
Cott, 4 Frotoft, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PT
Received 2 Apr 2018 - Decided18/130/PP
Change of use of land from agricultural land to domestic and erect a garage
Esperance, Honeysgeo Road, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2TH
Received 3 Apr 2018 - Decided18/131/PP
Erect a slatted byre
Grutha, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2TH
Received 4 Apr 2018 - Decided18/132/PP
Create a domestic annexe in existing outbuilding and install an air source heat pump
Brodgar, Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3JZ
Received 4 Apr 2018 - Decided18/133/HH
Extend a house and create an access
Vola, Grimeston Road, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2JT
Received 4 Apr 2018 - Decided18/134/AD
Display signage
31 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HL
Received 5 Apr 2018 - Decided18/135/PP
Construct access road and install services and drainage for 9 house sites, and landscaping
Errival (Land Near), St Ola
Received 6 Apr 2018 - Decided18/136/PP
Erect a house with an integral garage (amendment to 11/001/PP) (Retrospective)
Seaways, Firth, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1TU
Received 6 Apr 2018 - Decided18/137/LB
Amend courtyard roof and lift tower, re-point walls, install openings in external stairs, and internal works (following 16/044/LB)
Storehouse, Bridge Street Wynd, Kirkwall
Received 9 Apr 2018 - Decided18/138/PP
Convert an outbuilding to a house (subdivision of curtilage), extend, install an air source heat pump, and create an access
2 Cleat (Land Near), South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2RW
Received 9 Apr 2018 - Decided18/140/LB
Re-slate roof, lime render walls, install replacement windows, doors and rainwater goods, and internal alterations including replacement floors
134 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BU
Received 9 Apr 2018
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
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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