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9,644 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided25/361/HH
Extend a house
Fara, Hutter Road, Stromness Parish, Orkney KW16 3HU
Received 29 Oct 2025 - Decided25/362/PP
Erect a house with an integral garage and air source heat pump
Gelderoo (Land Near), Upper Crantit Road, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 31 Oct 2025 - Decided25/363/PP
Extend a public house (kitchen and plant enclosure) and install an air source heat pump
Pomona Inn, Finstown, Firth, Orkney, KW17 2EL
Received 30 Oct 2025 - Decided25/364/TC
Fell a tree
35 Albert Street (Courtyard Adjacent), Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HQ
Received 3 Nov 2025 - Decided25/365/PIP
Siting of a house and create an access
Alma Cottage (Land Near), Sanday, Orkney, KW17 2AY
Received 3 Nov 2025 - Decided25/366/HH
Install wall and roof ventilation outlets
23 St Catherine's Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HX
Received 3 Nov 2025 - Decided25/367/PIP
Siting of a replacement house and convert a redundant building to a house (two for one)
Drury (Land Near), Ocklester Road, Holm Orkney KW17 2SD
Received 3 Nov 2025 - Decided25/368/PP
Erect a house, demolish existing redundant house and erect a replacement house and garage
Keldroseed, Lyking Road, Sandwick Orkney
Received 3 Nov 2025 - Awaiting decision25/369/MAR
Install a storage raft (for fish health equipment)
Hunda, Scapa Flow, Orkney
Received 3 Nov 2025 - Unknown25/370/MARPN
Reposition feed barge
Westerbister, Scapa Flow, Orkney
Received 3 Nov 2025 - Decided25/371/PP
Convert church centre and manse to the three flats, and install three air source heat pumps
The Manse, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PR
Received 3 Nov 2025 - Decided25/372/PP
Erect a vehicle storage building
Site H60, Crowness Road, Hatston Industrial Estate, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 4 Nov 2025 - Unknown24/414/NMV/01
Amend dormer boarding to dry dash to match existing
18 Rope Walk, Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1XJ
Received 3 Nov 2025 - Decided25/376/CLOPUD
Alter a house
Oakglade, Easdale Loan, Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1RU
Received 6 Nov 2025 - Decided25/377/PIP
Siting of a house (subdivision of curtilage)
Midhouse, Tenston Road, Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3JA
Received 10 Nov 2025 - Decided25/378/VR
Vary condition 01 (duration of temporary permission) of planning permission 22/488/PP
Pier Cottage, Rousay, Orkney, KW17 2PU
Received 11 Nov 2025 - Decided25/379/SCR
Screening request for two 850kW wind turbines (maximum height 75 meters)
Work Farm (Land Near), St Ola, Orkney
Received 11 Nov 2025 - Decided25/380/PP
Erect three self-catering pods with communal foul drainage system and associated landscaping
Lower Fea (Land Near), Birsay, Orkney, KW17 2NS
Received 12 Nov 2025 - Decided25/381/LB
Remove rooflights and install six replacement rooflights, form openings and install two windows in gable, paint and render walls, install replacement cills, gate, and garage door, and internal alterations including removal of partitions and staircase, and reconfiguration of first and attic floor
The Manse, 5 Manse Lane, Stromness Orkney KW16 3AP
Received 14 Nov 2025 - Decided25/382/HH
Extend a house
Firthview, Grandon Road, Firth, Orkney, KW17 2ER
Received 14 Nov 2025 - Decided25/383/HH
Remove rooflights and install six replacement rooflights, form openings and install two windows in gable, paint and render walls, install replacement cills, gate, and garage door, and fell a tree
The Manse, 5 Manse Lane, Stromness Orkney KW16 3AP
Received 14 Nov 2025 - Awaiting decision25/384/PP
Erect a house with an integral garage, solar panels and an air source heat pump (one for one)
Vola (Land Near), Grimeston Road, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2JT
Received 14 Nov 2025 - Awaiting decision25/385/PP
Create car park
The Balfour, Foreland Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NZ
Received 17 Nov 2025 - Decided25/386/PP
Change of use of land to domestic and erect a shed
Culdigeo, Aikerness Road, Westray, Orkney, KW17 2DN
Received 17 Nov 2025
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
Understanding planning · 13 min read
Planning permission drawings: how to read plans
Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.
UK researchPublished Updated
Property research · 13 min read
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.
UK researchPublished Updated
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