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9,643 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided21/225/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump and a detached garage
East View (Land Near), Church Road, St Margarets Hope, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2SR
Received 24 May 2021 - Decided21/226/HH
Alter a domestic outbuilding
Quoy Of Houton, Tower Road, Orphir, Orkney, KW17 2RD
Received 21 May 2021 - Decided21/227/LB
Demolish section of wall and rebuild with new door and window openings, replace roof, paint and clad walls, and install windows and door in existing outbuilding
Quoy Of Houton, Tower Road, Orphir, Orkney, KW17 2RD
Received 24 May 2021 - Decided21/228/HH
Erect a domestic outbuilding with indoor pool
Gairth, Corston Road, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2LQ
Received 25 May 2021 - Decided21/229/HH
Extend a house and install an air source heat pump
Vestabar, Pipersquoy Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1EF
Received 26 May 2021 - Decided21/230/MARCON
Undertake the deposit of a marine farm at a location below the level of Mean High Water Springs
South Cava, Scapa Flow, Orkney
Received 25 May 2021 - Decided21/231/PP
Install a sculpture and associated landscaping
Arcadia Community Park, Scapa Crescent, Kirkwall, KW15 2RL
Received 25 May 2021 - Decided21/232/PP
Convert a redundant mill to a house and extend, form new window and door openings, install doors and windows, re-clad exterior of grain hoist, and install foul drainage system
Sourin Mill, Nethermill Road, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PR
Received 27 May 2021 - Decided21/233/LB
Demolish concrete extension, erect an extension with timber cladding, form new window and door openings, install doors and windows, re-clad exterior of grain hoist, construct new ground floor slab, suspended timber floors in kiln and replacement staircase, insulate external walls, and other internal alterations
Sourin Mill, Nethermill Road, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PR
Received 27 May 2021 - Unknown19/415/NMV/01
Amendment to window pattern
Kirk Park (Land Near), Orphir, Orkney
Received 27 May 2021 - Decided21/234/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump and create an access
Farrivald, Westray, Orkney
Received 31 May 2021 - Withdrawn/Returned21/235/PP
Reinstate and extend a house and install an air source heat pump, and upgrade an access
Campston Cottage (Land Near), St Andrews, Orkney, KW17 2QG
Received 1 Jun 2021 - Withdrawn/Returned21/236/PP
Extend a museum, remove cement and apply lime harl and install two air source heat pumps
52 Alfred Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3DF
Received 2 Jun 2021 - Decided21/237/PP
Erect a storage shed (Class 6) with an air source heat pump and create parking
Site H30, Sparrowhawk Road, St Ola, Orkney
Received 2 Jun 2021 - Decided21/238/PP
Erect an agricultural building
Pole NESS ROAD Burray Orkney Islands KW17 2TA
Received 2 Jun 2021 - Decided21/239/LB
Install replacement windows, rainwater goods, gates, handrails, and other internal alterations
Sule Skerry Lighthouse, Island Of Sule Skerry
Received 2 Jun 2021 - Decided21/240/TPPMAJ
Erect 6 wind turbines (maximum height 149.9 metres, maximum wind farm capacity 50MW), erect a meteorological mast (maximum height 90 metres) and a substation, construct access tracks, crane hardstandings, underground cabling, transformers, and a slipway and jetty, create a borrow pit, and associated infrastructure
Faray, Orkney
Received 3 Jun 2021 - Decided21/241/PP
Erect a slatted byre
St Clair Farm, Holm, Orkney, KW17 2RZ
Received 4 Jun 2021 - Unknown21/243/APN
Re-roof agricultural shed
Wasdale, Courquoy Road, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PR
Received 4 Jun 2021 - Unknown21/244/APN
Erect a polycrub
Wasdale, Courquoy Road, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PR
Received 4 Jun 2021 - Decided21/245/PIP
Siting of two houses and create an access
The Windlings (Land Near), Harray, Orkney
Received 7 Jun 2021 - Decided21/246/PP
Erect six houses and upgrade an access
Storehouse, Breckan Brae, Holm, Orkney
Received 7 Jun 2021 - Decided21/247/HH
Extend a house
Hawin, Northside Road, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2LU
Received 9 Jun 2021 - Decided21/248/HH
Extend a house
Coraldon, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SX
Received 9 Jun 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
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