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
138Recorded as pending
96%Approval rate · 10,078 approved or refused records
434Refused applications
9,644 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided23/383/PP
Erect a house, install an air source heat pump, and create an access (part retrospective) (resubmission of 23/213/AMC)
Makerhouse (Land Near), Dounby, Orkney
Received 12 Oct 2023 - Decided23/384/HH
Extend a house and erect a shed (resubmission of 23/028/HH)
15 Hillside Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3AH
Received 12 Oct 2023 - Decided23/385/PP
Demolish a house, erect a house with an air source heat pump and a detached garage, and create an access (resubmission of 22/464/PP)
Ness Cottage, Back Road, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3DP
Received 16 Oct 2023 - Decided23/386/PP
Erect three glamping pods and a shed, with associated foul drainage system and landscaping and upgrade an access (retrospective) (amendment to 21/369/PP)
Inganess Cottage (Land Near), Berstane Road, Kirkwall, Orkney,
Received 18 Oct 2023 - Decided23/388/PP
Change of use from a flat to a self-catering unit and install an air source heat pump (resubmission of 23/301/PP)
Flat 1, 8 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3AA
Received 19 Oct 2023 - Decided23/389/LB
Install an air source heat pump
Flat 1, 8 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3AA
Received 19 Oct 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/390/PP
Increase height of telecommunications mast from 11.72m to 23.72m and install six antennas, filters, remote radio heads and associated apparatus.
Wideford Hill Radio Mast, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1TS
Received 20 Oct 2023 - Decided23/392/PP
Change of use of land to domestic and erect a domestic garage
Hestivald, Back Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3DU
Received 23 Oct 2023 - Unknown23/393/PN
Install an antenna dish to existing mast
Vestrafiold Farm, Vestrafiold, Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3LU
Received 23 Oct 2023 - Decided23/397/PP
Convert a domestic annexe to a self-catering unit (retrospective)
Feawell (Annexe), Bu Road, Stromness Parish, Orkney, KW16 3JH
Received 1 Oct 2023 - Decided23/398/LB
Install external insulation and a replacement window (in existing extension) (retrospective)
22 High Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1AZ
Received 24 Oct 2023 - Decided23/401/HH
Extend a house (attached garage) install replacement windows, doors and roof lights, block openings and install an air source heat pump
The Anchorage, Cromwell Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1LH
Received 25 Oct 2023 - Decided23/402/HH
Erect a domestic shed
Vare Hjem, Westshore Road, Burray, Orkney, KW17 2SS
Received 26 Oct 2023 - Decided23/403/PP
Erect 11 houses, including communal access road and drainage and associated landscaping
Grainbank (Land Near), Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 1 Nov 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/404/PP
Erect a house
South Cott (Land Near), Eday, Orkney, KW17 2AB
Received 6 Nov 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/405/PP
Demolish cottages and erect four terraced houses with air source heat pumps and create accesses
Balfour Cottage, Sandyhill Road, Shapinsay, Orkney, KW17 2DY
Received 6 Nov 2023 - Decided23/406/PP
Erect a house with a detached garage and create an access
Straumr (Land Near), Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PU
Received 6 Nov 2023 - Decided23/407/PP
Erect a retail shed (Class 1A)
Orkney Auction Mart, Grainshore Road, St Ola, Orkney, KW15 1FL
Received 7 Nov 2023 - Unknown21/269/NMV/01
Size of windows reduced on Houses 1, 2 and 3 and amended door and panel to House 1
Burnbank (Land Near), Burray Village, Burray, Orkney, KW17 2SS
Received 7 Nov 2023 - Decided23/408/HH
Extend a house
Charale, Weyland Terrace, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1LS
Received 7 Nov 2023 - Decided23/409/PP
Convert a guesthouse to a house
Aviedale Cottage, Puldrite Road, Rendall, Orkney, KW17 2PB
Received 8 Nov 2023 - Decided23/410/HH
Install a dormer window
Sunardee, Hillside Road, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3HR
Received 8 Nov 2023 - Decided23/411/PP
Convert a redundant building to a house, extend and install an air source heat pump
Mounthoolie (Land Near), Eday, Orkney, KW17 2AB
Received 10 Nov 2023 - Withdrawn/Returned23/413/PP
Erect a house and shed and create an access
11 Laverock Road (Land Near), Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1EE
Received 10 Nov 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