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9,644 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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
- Decided25/387/HH
Replace all existing timber windows with timber tilt and turn windows
2 Grays Noust, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3EB
Received 17 Nov 2025 - Unknown25/047/NMV/01
Roof pitch changed from 30 degrees to 27.5 degrees to lower the ridge height. Building moved to the right (South) by 500mm
Westray Airfield, Westray Orkney
Received 10 Nov 2025 - Unknown25/388/PN
Install 2 x 8m wooden poles
81 Quoybanks Crescent & 56A Craigie Crescent, Kirkwall Orkney
Received 13 Nov 2025 - Decided25/389/TC
Fell a tree
11 King Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1JF
Received 13 Nov 2025 - Awaiting decision25/390/PP
Erect a 92-bed, four-storey hotel including bar and restaurant, and staff accommodation, incorporating existing store, construct car parking and hard and soft landscaping, including public open space and surface water drainage
Former Jewsons Yard, Junction Road, Kirkwall, Orkney
Received 18 Nov 2025 - Decided25/391/TPP
Erect a wind turbine (maximum height 17.8 metres) and solar panel array
Trebb (Land Near), Trebb Road, North Ronaldsay Orkney KW17 2BE
Received 20 Nov 2025 - Awaiting decision25/392/PP
Change of use from gallery to self-catering accommodation
21 Bridge Street, Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1HR
Received 20 Nov 2025 - Awaiting decision25/393/LB
Internal alterations to facilitate change of use to short term let including installation of shower, WC and partition wall
21 Bridge Street, Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1HR
Received 20 Nov 2025 - Decided25/395/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump and an integral garage, two polycarbonate polytunnels and create an access
Hallan (Land Near), Lochend Road, Westray, Orkney KW17 2DW
Received 21 Nov 2025 - Decided25/396/PP
Install windows and balconies, replace former window, and alter entrance door screen (amendment to 23/448/PP) (retrospective)
27 North End Road, Stromness, Orkney
Received 21 Nov 2025 - Decided25/397/PP
Erect a general purpose shed
Verecroft, Linklater Road, Sandwick Orkney KW17 2JH
Received 24 Nov 2025 - Unknown25/176/NMV/01
Increase width of first floor window on South elevation by 300mm and install a roof mounted solar array
30 Coplands Drive (Land Near), Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3BN
Received 19 Nov 2025 - Decided25/398/TC
Significant crown reduction to a mature tree (following storm damage)
12 - 14 Queen Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1JE
Received 19 Nov 2025 - Unknown15/282/NMV/01
Internal amendments including retain stair line of internal walls, and openings, retain SVP and new flue
Burwick Farm, Burwick South Ronaldsay
Received 21 Nov 2025 - Decided25/399/PP
Extend a shed, install four motorhome/caravan pitches with hook-up points and install solar panels on existing pavilion building
Orkney West Mainland Agricultural Society, Showground, Dounby, Orkney
Received 25 Nov 2025 - Decided25/401/PP
Construct a whalebone memorial sculpture with chain barrier
Public Toilets (Land Near), Churchill Barrier No 4, Burray, Orkney
Received 26 Nov 2025 - Decided25/402/PP
Erect a house with an air source heat pump
Rowandale (Land Near), Finstown, Firth Orkney
Received 27 Nov 2025 - Decided25/403/HH
Install replacement windows, doors, and rainwater goods and re-harl
88 - 90 Dundas Street, Stromness Orkney KW16 3DA
Received 28 Nov 2025 - Decided25/405/PP
Erect a boundary wall and bin enclosure, and install three metal pergolas (amendment to 24/047/PP)
The Ferry Inn, 10 John Street, Stromness Orkney KW16 3AD
Received 1 Dec 2025 - Awaiting decision25/407/PP
Change of use from caf� bar, shop and music rooms, to mixed use community learning offices (Class 1A and Class 10) including training and drop-in facilities, and install ventilation grilles
6 Broad Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NX
Received 1 Dec 2025 - Awaiting decision25/408/LB
Internal alterations to create client working areas, remove partitions, replace secondary glazing, repair rear window, install signage and ventilation grilles
6 Broad Street, Kirkwall Orkney KW15 1NX
Received 1 Dec 2025 - Decided25/409/PP
Change of use from Wildlife Centre to (reinstatement of) Lobster Ponds
Fernvalley Wildlife Centre, Gorseness Road, Rendall, Orkney
Received 2 Dec 2025 - Decided25/412/LB
Install replacement windows and doors, and internal alterations
Hall Of Tankerness, Tankerness Hall Road, Tankerness, St Andrews, Orkney KW17 2QS
Received 3 Dec 2025 - Decided25/413/PP
Extend a house, create an access, and construct an access track
Sunnybank, Rue Road, Sanday, Orkney KW17 2AZ
Received 3 Dec 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