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9,643 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided23/097/HH
Erect a garage
Cot-On-Hill, Hill Road, Shapinsay, Orkney, KW17 2EA
Received 16 Mar 2023 - Decided23/099/PP
Convert former shop and house to four flats, extend including a balcony to the rear and install replacement windows, doors, rooflights and ridge tiles (resubmission of 22/264/PP)
5-7 King Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1JF
Received 17 Mar 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/100/PP
Erect two dome based greenhouses and associated access track and drainage (retrospective)
Millcroft (Land Near), Mill Bay Road, Eday, Orkney, KW17 2AB
Received 17 Mar 2023 - Decided23/101/PP
Install a bicycle shelter
Waiting Room (Land Near), Shapinsay Pier, Shapinsay, Orkney
Received 17 Mar 2023 - Decided23/102/PP
Construct an earth bank silage clamp and effluent tank (retrospective)
Howe, Howe Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3JU
Received 20 Mar 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/103/HH
Erect a shed (Retrospective)
3 Pumpwell Park, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3AT
Received 20 Mar 2023 - Decided23/104/PP
Erect 2 flat with air source heat pumps
29 Victoria Street (Land Near), Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DN
Received 20 Mar 2023 - Decided23/105/LB
Install replacement oil boiler and a flue
Stromness Town Hall, Church Road, Stromness, Orkney
Received 20 Mar 2023 - Decided23/106/PIP
Siting of a replacement house (one for one) and create an access
Nistaben Cottage (Land Near), Grimeston Road, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2JT
Received 20 Mar 2023 - Decided23/107/HH
Extend a house to create a domestic annexe
Barns Of Ayre, Aikerskaill Road, Deerness, Orkney, KW17 2QJ
Received 20 Mar 2023 - Decided23/108/LB
Install secondary glazing
23 Bridge Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HR
Received 21 Mar 2023 - Decided23/109/AD
Display signage
The Royal Bank Of Scotland, Sanday, Orkney, KW17 2BJ
Received 21 Mar 2023 - Decided23/110/AD
Display signage
The Royal Bank Of Scotland, Stronsay, Orkney, KW17 2AR
Received 21 Mar 2023 - Decided23/111/AD
Display signage
The Royal Bank Of Scotland, Westray, Orkney, KW17 2DH
Received 21 Mar 2023 - Decided23/112/PP
Erect a replacement house with an integral garage and an air source heat pump (one for one)
Savedale Cottage (Land Near), Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3JE
Received 23 Mar 2023 - Decided23/114/PP
Reinstate a house, extend, and install an air source heat pump and erect a replacement house with an air source heat pump, (two for one) and alter an access (resubmission of part of 22/288/PP)
Savedale Cottage (Land Near), Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3JE
Received 23 Mar 2023 - Decided23/115/PP
Reinstate a house, extend, and install an air source heat pump, erect a replacement house with an integral garage and an air source heat pump (two for one), and alter an access (resubmission of 22/289/PP)
Quean (Land Near), Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3JE
Received 23 Mar 2023 - Decided23/116/PIP
Siting of a house
Noneyha' (Land Near), Noneyha Road, Eday, Orkney, KW17 2AA
Received 23 Mar 2023 - Decided23/117/LB
Install display walls and signage fascia
69 - 73 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BS
Received 20 Mar 2023 - Decided23/118/TC
Fell a tree and prune five trees
8 Main Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1BU
Received 23 Mar 2023 - Decided23/119/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump (retrospective) and a garage (amendment to 12/565/PP)
The Gables, Tankerness Hall Road, Tankerness, St Andrews, Orkney, KW17 2QR
Received 23 Mar 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/120/PP
Extend a switchgear building and install a container and associated plant
Caldale Substation, Westside Road, Eday, Orkney
Received 24 Mar 2023 - Decided23/121/PP
Install air source heat pumps and a solar array
Daisy Villa, Doctors House Road, St Margarets Hope, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2SN
Received 24 Mar 2023 - Decided23/122/PP
Install air source heat pumps and a solar array
Hoy And Walls Health And Social Care Centre, Hoy, Orkney, KW16 3PG
Received 24 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