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9,644 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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: 16 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Unknown22/351/NMV/01
Install a sewage treatment plant
Ore Vik, Hoy, Orkney KW16 3NT
Received 29 Feb 2024 - Decided24/084/PP
Erect two self-catering pods with communal foul drainage system and associated landscaping
Lower Quoys, Evie, Orkney, KW17 2PH
Received 29 Feb 2024 - Decided24/085/HH
Extend a house
Warrenfield, Bignold Park Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1PT
Received 27 Feb 2024 - Decided24/086/HH
Extend a house
2 Crantit Park, St Ola, Orkney KW15 1SJ
Received 1 Mar 2024 - Decided24/090/PP
Subdivide a house (domestic annexe) to create a self-catering unit (retrospective)
Peedie-ha, Holm, Orkney KW17 2RX
Received 4 Mar 2024 - Decided24/091/PP
Convert offices to a house, re-roof lean-to, install replacement windows (timber to street elevation), repaint shop windows and door, and install an air source heat pump and freestanding solar array (part retrospective)
15 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DN
Received 4 Mar 2024 - Decided24/092/AMC
Erect two houses for agricultural workers, with air source heat pumps and intergral garages (following permission in principle 22/057/PIP)
Berriedale Farm (Land Near) South Ronaldsay Orkney Islands KW17 2TQ
Received 4 Mar 2024 - Decided24/093/APN
Form agricultural private way
Binscarth Farm (Land Near), Firth, Orkney, KW17 2JZ
Received 4 Mar 2024 - Withdrawn/Returned24/095/PP
Install a portable building and new shipping container (to replace existing structures) and paint portable building
Orkney Zerowaste, 2 Garson Place, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3EE
Received 5 Mar 2024 - Decided24/096/PP
Install a replacement telecommunications pole (8.5 metres)
Sandside (Land Near), Sandside Road, Graemsay, Orkney, KW16 3NG
Received 6 Mar 2024 - Decided24/097/HH
Extend a house
11 Bridge Street Wynd, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1JD
Received 6 Mar 2024 - Decided24/100/PP
Change of use from a flat to a self-catering unit (retrospective)
1 Taits Flat, Front Road, St Margarets Hope, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2SL
Received 7 Mar 2024 - Withdrawn/Returned23/232/NMV/01
Building length reduced by 4.5m, cladding on east and west elevation to match and removal of escape ladder and door on east elevation with emergency door relocated to main entry on south gable
Cursiter Quarry Old Finstown Road Firth Orkney Islands KW15 1TT
Received 6 Mar 2024 - Decided24/101/HH
Erect a garage
Valhalla, Greenfield, St Andrews, Orkney KW17 2QG
Received 7 Mar 2024 - Decided24/102/TC
Prune two mature trees
East Church Manse Thoms Street Kirkwall Orkney Islands KW15 1PF
Received 7 Mar 2024 - Decided24/104/HH
Extend a house (to existing building) (retrospective)
Whip, Sanday, Orkney, KW17 2AY
Received 7 Mar 2024 - Decided24/105/HH
Extend a house and erect a domestic outbuilding
Lochside Cottage, Lochside Road, Birsay, Orkney KW17 2NR
Received 8 Mar 2024 - Decided24/106/HH
Extend a house, including integral garage
Ocean View, Hillside Road, Hoy, Orkney, KW16 3PQ
Received 8 Mar 2024 - Decided24/107/PP
Erect a storage shed (Class 6) (recreational purposes only)
Knarston, St Ola, Orkney KW15 1SD
Received 8 Mar 2024 - Decided24/108/PP
Erect two houses with air source heat pumps and integral garages and create an access
Plot 1 & 2 Hazelwood, Quoyloo, Sandwick Orkney
Received 11 Mar 2024 - Unknown17/316/NMV/01
Change of window profile from evolution to veka flushsash. All profile colour and sizes as original
The Penthouse, Front Road, St Margarets Hope, Orkney
Received 11 Mar 2024 - Decided24/109/WL
Install a replacement power distribution cable and associated cable stabilisation and protection measures
The String (Head Of Work And Twi Ness, Shapinsay) Orkney
Received 6 Mar 2024 - Awaiting decision24/110/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump and create an access (resubmission of 24/005/PP)
Lower Rumin (Land Near) Rackwick Road, Hoy, Orkney KW16 3NJ
Received 13 Mar 2024 - Unknown24/111/PN
Install two 9 metre telecommunication poles
Sand O Gill And Floss (Land Near), Westray, Orkney
Received 13 Mar 2024
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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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