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9,643 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided22/448/PP
Erect a workshop and install treatment plant (resubmission of 22/248/PP)
Cooke Aquaculture, Factory H43, Crowness Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1RG
Received 23 Nov 2022 - Decided22/449/PP
Install a 22.5m replacement lattice telecommunications tower, with 3 antennae, 6 remote radio units, a GPS module, 3 cabinets and associated infrastructure
Burgar Hill, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2PJ
Received 23 Nov 2022 - Decided22/450/HH
Install an air source heat pump
24 Garden Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1JA
Received 23 Nov 2022 - Decided22/451/PP
Erect a workshop (Class 5) and extend slipway including resurfacing section of public road (resubmission of 22/249/PP)
Burray Boatyard, Burray, Orkney, KW17 2SS
Received 23 Nov 2022 - Unknown22/054/NMV/01
Minor alterations to proposed window sizes. Change of Window Shape - (Bathroom Window), Change of Roofing Colour, Change of Rainwater goods; (Gutters and Downpipes colour)
Garth Cottage (Land Near), St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SS
Received 22 Nov 2022 - Unknown21/298/NMV/01
Additional stonework repairs, timber cill repairs, Doors D2 & D4 replaced, skews lifted & rebedded, boundary wall repointed all as per attached.
Stromness Town Hall, Church Road, Stromness, Orkney,
Received 22 Nov 2022 - Decided22/453/HH
Extend a house, remove chimney stacks, re-roof with Spanish slate, install rooflights, UPVC rainwater goods, aluminium-clad windows and composite door, paint walls, and erect a boundary wall (part retrospective)
Ferndale, Willow Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NJ
Received 24 Nov 2022 - Decided22/454/EB
Simplified Notification to install 33kV overhead line
Orphir Road, St Ola, Orkney
Received 24 Nov 2022 - Decided22/455/WL
Install two replacement subsea electricity cables and associated protection measures
Clestrain Sound And Hoy Sound, Orkney
Received 24 Nov 2022 - Decided22/456/VR
Remove condition 07 (provision of footway) of planning permission 22/060/PP
Plots 1A & 1B Eastbrae, Wardhill, Stromness, Orkney
Received 28 Nov 2022 - Decided22/457/PN
Install 3 antennae and 2 dishes
The Wart, Warsetter, Sanday, Orkney, KW17 2BA
Received 25 Nov 2022 - Decided22/458/HH
Extend a house
Sunardee, Hillside Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3HR
Received 30 Nov 2022 - Decided22/459/PP
Erect a house with air source heat pump and an integral garage (one for one) (amendment to 14/163/AMC)
Breck (Land Near), South Ronaldsay, Orkney
Received 30 Nov 2022 - Decided22/460/LB
Install a surface-mounted cable
60 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HQ
Received 1 Dec 2022 - Decided22/461/PP
Convert a domestic outbuilding (studio) to a self-catering unit and extend
Craerhowe (Land Near), Moss Road, Holm, Orkney, KW17 2SA
Received 2 Dec 2022 - Decided22/462/PP
Change of use from house and shop to a flat, office (Class 4), gymnasium (Class 11) and wellbeing centre (Class 10), extend a wool mill with a shop (Classes 1 & 4) and associated parking and infrastructure and alter windows
Trebb, Trebb Road, North Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2BE
Received 2 Dec 2022 - Decided22/463/PP
Erect a house and create an access
Sea Berry (Land Near), Hoy, Orkney, KW16 3PQ
Received 2 Dec 2022 - Withdrawn/Returned22/464/PP
Demolish a house, erect a house with an integral garage and an air source heat pump and create an access
Ness Cottage, Back Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3DP
Received 5 Dec 2022 - Decided22/465/PP
Extend an electricity substation, erect a switchroom and control building, and transformer bund, install a surface water pipe, and create an access
Eday Primary Substation, Eday, Orkney
Received 6 Dec 2022 - Decided18/417/NMV/01
Remove access to rear
Bayview, Westray, Orkney
Received 5 Dec 2022 - Decided22/466/PP
Erect a stable, including change of use of domestic curtilage
Downies, Sandside Road, Deerness, Orkney, KW17 2QJ
Received 9 Dec 2022 - Decided22/467/PP
Relocate a kiosk, erect a kiosk, install a sludge blow-off point, septic tanks, reed bed, fencing and associated infrastructure, and landscaping including amendment to bund
Orphir Wastewater Treatment Works, Kirk Park, Orphir, Orkney, KW17 2RQ
Received 9 Dec 2022 - Withdrawn/Returned22/468/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump, an agricultural building and create an access
Standpretty (Land Near), Shapinsay, Orkney, KW17 2DY
Received 12 Dec 2022 - Decided22/469/PP
Erect four self-catering units with air source heat pumps, and associated parking, landscaping and drainage infrastructure including outfall (part retrospective)
Furrowend, Eday, Orkney, KW17 2AB
Received 12 Dec 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
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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