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
139Recorded as pending
96%Approval rate · 10,077 approved or refused records
434Refused applications
9,643 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 24 Sept 1979 to 5 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 15 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided21/006/PP
Install a telecommunications cabinet
Laverock Cottage (Land Near), Union Street, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 6 Jan 2021 - Decided21/007/HH
Extend a house
Saevermere, Carness Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1UE
Received 6 Jan 2021 - Decided21/008/HH
Extend a house
12 Hillside Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3AH
Received 8 Jan 2021 - Decided21/009/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump and a detached garage and create an access (amendment to 92/266/PPF)
Foinaven (Land Near), Blackhill Road, St Ola, Orkney
Received 11 Jan 2021 - Decided21/010/PP
Erect four agricultural buildings, comprising of a general purpose shed, tool shed, growing shed and pigsty, 2 polytunnels, install a borehole, engineering operations for surface water drainage and to alter ground levels and a water course and create a pond, temporary siting of a caravan, and create an access (part retrospective)
Redlums (Land Near), Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PR
Received 11 Jan 2021 - Decided21/011/HH
Extend a house
3 Park Avenue, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1PX
Received 12 Jan 2021 - Decided21/012/APN
Erect a GP shed
Burnlea, Stews Road, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2RL
Received 12 Jan 2021 - Unknown19/217/NMV/02
Doors and windows to be dark grey uPVC. Grey cedral fibre cement cladding to dormers. Four additional solar panels to roof
Plots 35-39 Breckan Brae (Land Near) St Marys Holm Orkney Islands
Received 12 Jan 2021 - Decided21/013/LB
Form opening in stone dyke
Garson House, Garson Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3JU
Received 13 Jan 2021 - Decided21/014/HH
Erect a domestic garage and form opening in stone dyke
Garson House, Garson Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3JU
Received 13 Jan 2021 - Decided21/016/PN
Erect 7.2m pole
New Store, Burray, Orkney
Received 8 Jan 2021 - Decided21/017/PP
Re-roof, wet harl walls and install replacement windows and rainwater goods
24 John Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3AD
Received 14 Jan 2021 - Decided21/015/SCR
Screening opinion request to demolish household waste and recycling centre and former abattoir and create an integrated waste facility
Hatston HWRC/Former Abattoir, Sparrowhawk Road/Grainshore Road, Hatston Industrial Estate, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1FL
Received 13 Jan 2021 - Decided21/018/PP
Erect a storage shed, install an EV charger and re-surface yard
Boathouse, Shapinsay, Orkney, KW17 2DY
Received 15 Jan 2021 - Decided21/020/AMC
Erect a house with an integral garage and an air source heat pump (following permission in principle - 17/212/PIP)
Plot 5 St Clair (Land Near), Old Finstown Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1TW
Received 18 Jan 2021 - Decided21/021/PP
Erect a house (amendment to 19/217/PP)
Plot 40 Breckan Brae, St Marys, Holm, Orkney
Received 19 Jan 2021 - Decided21/022/PP
Change of use of part of dwelling to a self-catering unit (retrospective)
Lower Quoys, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2PH
Received 19 Jan 2021 - Decided21/023/PP
Erect a replacement house with an air source heat pump and integral garage, and convert a redundant building to a house with an air source heat pump (two for one)
Quoys (Land Near), Woodstock Road, Holm, Orkney KW17 2SD
Received 20 Jan 2021 - Unknown19/309/NMV/01
Amend weatherboarding from 'Cedral Click C14 Atlas Brown' to timber Siberian larch
Sunnyvale Village Road Burray Village Burray Orkney Islands KW17 2SS
Received 20 Jan 2021 - Decided21/025/HH
Install a bay window (retrospective)
3 Earl Sigurd Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1QE
Received 20 Jan 2021 - Decided21/026/HH
Extend a house
17 Lynn Park, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1SL
Received 21 Jan 2021 - Decided21/027/HH
Install replacement windows
1 Manse Lane, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BX
Received 21 Jan 2021 - Decided21/028/LB
Install replacement windows
1 Manse Lane, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BX
Received 21 Jan 2021 - Decided21/029/PP
Erect a bakery and change of use of land from commercial to domestic
Eviedale Centre, Evie Village, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2PJ
Received 22 Jan 2021
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