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9,643 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided23/071/PP
Extend an industrial storage yard and erect a bund
East Quoys, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2JH
Received 1 Mar 2023 - Decided86/067/PP
Change of use of part of school to flat
Old School, Evie
Received 10 Mar 1986 - Decided23/072/PN
Lay underground cable, remove section of cable, and temporary works
Rackwick, Hoy
Received 2 Mar 2023 - Decided23/073/PP
Create an access track (flood event access route)
Castlehame (Land Near), Carness Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1UE
Received 2 Mar 2023 - Decided23/074/HH
Extend a house
Isgarth, Nicolson Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1BD
Received 3 Mar 2023 - Decided23/075/TC
Fell a tree (non-native conifer)
93 VICTORIA STREET, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BU
Received 1 Mar 2023 - Decided23/076/HH
Paint walls, windows and door
81 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DQ
Received 7 Mar 2023 - Decided23/077/CLEUD
Regularise the erection of a house and creation of an access
Howana, Hutter Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3HU
Received 7 Mar 2023 - Decided23/079/LB
Paint walls, windows and door
81 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DQ
Received 8 Mar 2023 - Decided23/080/CLEUD
Regularise the use of a premises as a self-catering unit
Lochend, Stenness Village, Stenness, Orkney, KW16 3JY
Received 8 Mar 2023 - Decided23/081/PP
Demolish former house and erect two houses with air source heat pumps
1 King Street, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 9 Mar 2023 - Decided23/082/PP
Erect 2 houses with integral garages and air source heat pumps (part amendment to 18/288/PP)
Plots 3 & 4 Dalvenna (Land Near), Scapa Brae, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SF
Received 9 Mar 2023 - Decided23/083/PP
Erect a replacement house with integral garage (one for one) incorporating existing outbuilding (amendment to 22/222/PP)
Little Quoy, Littlequoy Road, Burray, Orkney, KW17 2SX
Received 10 Mar 2023 - Decided23/084/HH
Extend a house with air source heat pump
Ongar Cottage, Hillside Road, Dounby, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2HT
Received 10 Mar 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/085/PP
Erect 2 self-catering pods with communal foul drainage system and associated landscaping
Lower Quoys, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2PH
Received 10 Mar 2023 - Awaiting decision23/087/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump and a detached garage for an agricultural worker
Carness Farm (Land Near), Carness Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1UE
Received 13 Mar 2023 - Decided23/088/HH
Erect a domestic outbuilding (retrospective)
Dalkeith, Old Finstown Road, Firth, Orkney, KW15 1TT
Received 9 Mar 2023 - Decided23/089/HH
Extend a house
Heatherview, Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3LU
Received 14 Mar 2023 - Decided23/090/LB
Harl walls and install a replacement window
Kirkwall East Church, King Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1JF
Received 14 Mar 2023 - Decided23/091/SCR
Screening opinion request to erect a sea wall and reclaim land
Lodge 5 Atlantis Lodges (Land Near), Finstown, Orkney
Received 9 Mar 2023 - Unknown21/047/NMV/01
Change render from Champagne (K-rend K1 Render) to Glenarm White (dry-dash finish)
Achins (Land Near), 9 Castlehame Park, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1XZ
Received 13 Mar 2023 - Decided23/094/PP
Erect an agricultural shed
Pole, Ness Road, Burray, Orkney, KW17 2TA
Received 16 Mar 2023 - Decided23/095/HH
Extend a house into outbuildings, re-roof and install an air source heat pump
Little Arion, Hutter Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3HU
Received 16 Mar 2023 - Decided23/096/LB
Re-roof using slate and sheet metal, alter openings and install windows and doors, harl and re-point walls, install an air source heat pump and internal alterations
Little Arion, Hutter Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3HU
Received 16 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
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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