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9,643 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided23/198/PP
Alter a public outdoor recreational space, extend car parking, earthworks, construct paths and dykes, install benches and play equipment and associated landscaping
Eday Heritage And Visitor Centre, Eday, Orkney, KW17 2AB
Received 23 May 2023 - Decided23/199/MARCON
Undertake a survey at a location below the level of Mean High Water Springs
Wide Firth And Shapinsay Sound, Orkney
Received 19 May 2023 - Unknown22/488/NMV/01
Change of Cabin model including amended floorplan, window and door positions. Minor reduction to size/footprint of cabin
Pier Cottage, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PU
Received 22 May 2023 - Decided23/200/HH
Erect a garage
Savedale Cottage, Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3JE
Received 25 May 2023 - Decided23/203/HH
Re-render chimney stack
25 Alfred Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3DF
Received 31 May 2023 - Decided23/204/PIP
Siting of a replacement house (one for one)
Westbank (Land Near), Georth Road, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2PJ
Received 2 Jun 2023 - Decided23/205/HH
Extend a house
Hallbreck, Hools Road, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2RH
Received 5 Jun 2023 - Decided23/206/HH
Extend a house
1 Meadow Park, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1FN,
Received 5 Jun 2023 - Decided23/207/LB
Install an extract vent and internal alterations to form a toilet
The Cottage (Land Near) Copelands Lane, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1JG
Received 5 Jun 2023 - Decided23/208/PP
Extend a building
Cooke Aquaculture, Factory H43, Crowness Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1RG
Received 6 Jun 2023 - Unknown23/209/PP
Erect a three storey block of 15 flats and alter an access, with associated car parking, landscaping and infrastructure (resubmission of 21/266/PP)
Great Western Road Car Park (Land Near), Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 7 Jun 2023 - Decided23/210/HH
Replace roof covering
St Ola, Lower Whitehall Road, Stronsay, Orkney, KW17 2AS
Received 8 Jun 2023 - Decided23/211/PP
Erect a residential accommodation with an air source heat pump (subdivision of curtilage) (amendment to 22/243/PP)
Sprucol View, Inganess Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1SR
Received 8 Jun 2023 - Decided23/212/TC
Fell a tree
Ardenlea, 43 Graham Place, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BY
Received 9 Jun 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/213/AMC
Erect a house with an integral garage (following permission in principle 20/403/PIP)
Makerhouse (Land Near), Dounby, Orkney
Received 9 Jun 2023 - Decided23/214/AMC
Erect a house with an air source heat pump (following permission in principle 21/423/PIP)
The Willows (Land Near), Hoy, Orkney, KW16 3NY
Received 9 Jun 2023 - Decided23/215/HH
Extend a house
Hawthorn Villa, Waird Road, Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2HY
Received 9 Jun 2023 - Decided23/216/PP
Erect a storage building (retrospective)
Leask Marine, Crowness Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1RG
Received 9 Jun 2023 - Decided23/217/PP
Stone replacement, indent repairs, Lithomex repairs and de-scaling, re-point and render walls, and install replacement ridge tiles
Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY
Received 13 Jun 2023 - Decided23/218/LB
Stone replacement, indent repairs, Lithomex repairs and de-scaling, re-point and render walls.
Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY
Received 13 Jun 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/219/PP
Change of use from a hotel (Class 7) to a house (Class 9)
Taversoe Hotel, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PT
Received 14 Jun 2023 - Decided23/220/PP
Reinstate a house, install an air source heat pump, and alter an access
South Cott, Eday, Orkney, KW17 2AB
Received 14 Jun 2023 - Decided23/221/AD
Display a fascia sign and projecting sign
49 - 51 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HQ
Received 16 Jun 2023 - Decided23/223/PP
Change of use of land from agricultural to domestic and alter ground levels (part retrospective)
St Columbas House, Lower Whitehall Road, Stronsay, Orkney, KW17 2AS
Received 16 Jun 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