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
Explore collected planning applications and decisions for Shetland Islands. Search an address, application reference or proposal to find a record.
7,477 approved · 115 refused · 254 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 17 Feb 2005 to 7 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 12 Oct 2026. Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.
Contact details were found on council pages. Check the source for opening hours and which enquiries the service handles.
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.
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.
Westerhouse Vatsetter Yell Shetland ZE2 9BU
Received 2 Feb 2015South Of Breck South Whiteness Shetland ZE2 9LL
Received 3 Feb 201592 St Olaf Street Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0ES
Received 3 Feb 2015Ness Engineering Ltd The Brakes Sumburgh Shetland ZE3 9JW
Received 4 Feb 2015Old Observatory Site Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0RR
Received 5 Feb 2015Ayres Of Selivoe Bridge Of Walls Shetland ZE2 9NR
Received 5 Feb 201586 St Olaf Street Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0ES
Received 14 Jan 2015Lowries Ladysmith Road Scalloway Shetland ZE1 0XD
Received 2 Feb 2015Upper Stoneybrek Fair Isle Shetland ZE2 9JU
Received 10 Feb 2015Site West Of Hjem Symbister Whalsay Shetland ZE2 9AA
Received 10 Feb 2015Croft At Cumliewick Sandwick Shetland ZE2 9HH
Received 11 Feb 2015Braeview Gott Tingwall Shetland ZE2 9SF
Received 12 Feb 2015Hillside Lodge Hillside Road Sandwick Shetland ZE2 9HW
Received 12 Feb 2015Sound Primary School Upper Sound Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0LY
Received 12 Feb 2015141 Commercial Street Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0DL
Received 12 Feb 2015Site South Of Da Fustra Westing Unst Shetland ZE2 9DW
Received 12 Feb 2015Seafield House Seafield Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0RN
Received 12 Feb 2015Brakefield Baltasound Unst Shetland ZE2 9DX
Received 13 Feb 201532 Market Street Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0JP
Received 16 Feb 2015Croft 12 Veensgarth Gott Tingwall Shetland ZE2 9SB
Received 13 Feb 2015West Green Symbister Whalsay Shetland ZE2 9AD
Received 13 Feb 20153, 4, 5, 6 Carlton Place Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0ED
Received 18 Feb 20153, 4, 5, 6 Carlton Place Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0ED
Received 18 Feb 2015Turriefield Sandness Shetland ZE2 9PL
Received 19 Feb 2015Records are ordered by application ID, not submission date. Use search to find a particular address or proposal.
View all applicationsStart 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 applications
Understanding planning · 13 min read
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.

Understanding planning · 13 min read
Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.

Property research · 13 min read
Understand planning approval rates with an interactive calculator, worked examples and comparison table. Check sample sizes, outcomes and coverage before comparing.
These figures describe applications collected by PlanningTrack for Shetland 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