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9,643 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Withdrawn/Returned22/051/PIP
Siting of three houses and create a slipway
Veensgarth (Land Near), Cromwell Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1LN
Received 11 Feb 2022 - Decided22/052/HH
Install replacement windows, door, garage door, paint wall and install an air source heat pump (part retrospective)
12 Main Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1BU
Received 14 Feb 2022 - Decided22/053/HH
Erect a domestic outbuilding (part amendment to 21/409/PP)
Stoneyhill, Westshore Road, Burray, Orkney, KW17 2ST
Received 14 Feb 2022 - Decided22/054/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump for a farm worker
Garth Cottage (Land Near), St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SS
Received 14 Feb 2022 - Decided22/056/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump and a detached garage and reinstate a redundant house (two for one)
South Wardhill, Stromness, Orkney
Received 15 Feb 2022 - Decided22/057/PIP
Siting of two houses for agricultural workers
Berriedale Cottage (Land Near), South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2TQ
Received 15 Feb 2022 - Decided22/058/PP
Extend a brewery (canopy shelter), hardstanding and ancillary landscaping
The Orkney Brewery, Quoyloo Road, Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3LT
Received 16 Feb 2022 - Unknown22/059/TPN
Erect a 3kW wind turbine (max height 11.11m)
Greenhope, Hoy, Orkney, KW16 3PQ
Received 14 Feb 2022 - Decided22/060/PP
Erect two houses with air source heat pumps and create an access (resubmission of 21/095/PP)
Plots 1A & 1B Eastbrae, Wardhill, Stromness, Orkney
Received 18 Feb 2022 - Decided22/061/PP
Erect a replacement house with an integral garage and an air source heat pump and upgrade an access (one for one)
Glenerne (Land Near), Bimbister Road, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2JR
Received 22 Feb 2022 - Decided22/062/AMC
Erect a replacement house with an air source heat pump (one for one) (following planning permission in principle 19/377/PIP)
Tufta (Land Near), Sandwick, Orkney, KW17 2JE
Received 22 Feb 2022 - Decided22/063/HH
Replace roof covering
Howe Cottage, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2PJ
Received 23 Feb 2022 - Decided22/065/HH
Extend a house
Strathdean, West Greaves Road, St Marys, Holm, Orkney, KW17 2RU
Received 24 Feb 2022 - Decided22/066/HH
Extend a house and install an air source heat pump
Ty Bach, 7 Papdale Close, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1QP
Received 22 Feb 2022 - Decided22/067/PP
Paint shop front
39 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HQ
Received 24 Feb 2022 - Decided22/068/PP
Install services for three house sites
Burnbank (Land Near), Hillside Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3HR
Received 25 Feb 2022 - Decided22/070/HH
Extend a house and install an air source heat pump
Damsay, Grimbust Road, Westray, Orkney, KW17 2DE
Received 2 Mar 2022 - Decided22/071/TC
Prune a sycamore
The Big Tree, Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HQ
Received 28 Feb 2022 - Decided22/072/TC
Crown lift three trees
Albert Street Car Park, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1YQ
Received 28 Feb 2022 - Decided22/073/TC
Pruning works of mature tree
Tankerness House Gardens, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1DH
Received 28 Feb 2022 - Decided22/074/TC
Fell a mature tree and crown lift and other pruning works to 10 trees
Willows, WIllow Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NJ
Received 28 Feb 2022 - Decided22/075/TC
Prune 13 trees
St Magnus Cathedral, Broad Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1NX
Received 28 Feb 2022 - Decided22/076/PP
Erect 14 houses with air source heat pumps, construct roads and associated landscaping (resubmission of 19/071/PP)
Walliwall (Land Near) (K5), Phase 3, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 2 Mar 2022 - Decided22/077/HH
Erect a garage (resubmission of 21/288/HH)
Rose Ness, Holm, Orkney, KW17 2SB
Received 2 Mar 2022
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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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