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9,643 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided23/050/LB
Install an air source heat pump
25 Graham Place, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BY
Received 14 Feb 2023 - Decided23/051/PP
Erect a bus shelter and construct a lay-by
Junction Of A964 And Smoogro Road, Orphir, Orkney
Received 14 Feb 2023 - Awaiting decision23/052/PP
Change of use from a self-catering unit to a house
Owlswood Lodge, Orphir, Orkney, KW17 2RA
Received 14 Feb 2023 - Decided23/053/PN
Install a wooden pole
Summerdale (Land Near), Stenness Village, Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3JX
Received 13 Feb 2023 - Unknown22/222/NMV/01
Flat roof balcony over entrance and dining area with frameless glazed barrier. Vertical standing seam cladding where shown. Installation of solar panels.
Little Quoy Littlequoy Road Burray Orkney Islands KW17 2SX
Received 14 Feb 2023 - Decided23/054/PP
Extend a retail and storage building and erect a roofed shelter with floodlights
MacGregor Industrial Supplies Ltd, Grainshore Drive, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1FL
Received 15 Feb 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/055/PP
Install a bicycle shelter
Waiting Room (Land Near), Shapinsay Pier, Shapinsay, Orkney
Received 15 Feb 2023 - Decided23/056/PP
Erect a storage building
John G Corse Funeral Home, Old Scapa Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1BB
Received 16 Feb 2023 - Decided23/057/PP
Erect a meteorological mast (max height 90m) for a period of 3 years
Hundland Hill (Land Near), Birsay, Orkney
Received 16 Feb 2023 - Decided23/058/PP
Construct a metal pedestrian access ramp and form opening in boundary wall
Stromness Community Centre, Church Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BA
Received 16 Feb 2023 - Decided23/059/PIP
Siting of a house and alter an access (subdivision of curtilage)
Brekka, Cruan Road, Firth, Orkney, KW15 1TT
Received 20 Feb 2023 - Decided23/060/PIP
Siting of a house (subdivision of curtilage)
Thorne Villa, Stoneyhill Road, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2JS
Received 20 Feb 2023 - Decided23/061/LB
Install a boiler flue, underground vent pipe and duct enclosure
St Magnus Cathedral, Broad Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DH
Received 20 Feb 2023 - Decided23/062/PP
Change of use of flat to self-catering unit (retrospective)
14 White Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1PG
Received 21 Feb 2023 - Decided23/063/PP
Change of use from a flat to a self-catering unit (retrospective)
Thorshaven, Back Road, St Margarets Hope, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2SP
Received 21 Feb 2023 - Unknown21/180/NMV/01
Change of roof slates to part of the house (due to shortage of Orkney slate)
Fursbreck, Harray
Received 22 Feb 2023 - Unknown22/259/NMV/01
Amend window design, and additional replacement windows
27 North End Road Stromness Orkney Islands KW16 3AG
Received 23 Feb 2023 - Unknown23/064/APN
Erect a GP shed
Upper Hobbister, Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3HG
Received 23 Feb 2023 - Decided23/065/SCR
Screening opinion to erect an 850kW wind turbine (max height 76m) (repowering of existing site)
Ludenhill, Lochside Road, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2NR
Received 24 Feb 2023 - Unknown23/066/APN
Erect a GP shed
Skesquoy (Land Near), Durkadale Road, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2JD
Received 24 Feb 2023 - Decided23/067/VR
Vary condition 02 (operational lifespan of development) of planning permission 02/317/PPF, to February 2030
Northfield (Land Near), Northfield Road, Burray, Orkney, KW17 2SY
Received 24 Feb 2023 - Decided23/068/HH
Extend a house
Cooinda, Quoydandy Branch Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SR
Received 27 Feb 2023 - Decided23/069/HH
Erect a domestic outbuilding (garage and annexe)
Millhouse, Sandwick, Orkney, KW17 2JH
Received 27 Feb 2023 - Decided23/070/PP
Construct a slurry lagoon with safety fence and apron
Berriedale Farm (Land Near), St Margarets Hope, Orkney, KW17 2TQ
Received 1 Mar 2023
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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Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.
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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