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.
7,997 approved · 119 refused · 267 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 29 Nov 2002 to 12 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 14 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
North Gluss Ollaberry
Received 12 Dec 2022Church Of Scotland Papa Stour Shetland ZE2 9PW
Received 15 Dec 2022Adjacent Charity Shop Sellafirth Yell Shetland ZE2 9DF
Received 16 Dec 2022Plot Bridge End Burra Shetland
Received 13 Dec 2022Cooke Aquacultures Factory Mid Yell Yell Shetland ZE2 9BN
Received 19 Dec 2022Sirius Cottage Exnaboe Virkie Shetland ZE3 9JS
Received 16 Dec 2022Plot Catfirth South Nesting Shetland
Received 20 Dec 2022Plot 12 Culsetter Park Brae Shetland ZE2 9WL
Received 21 Dec 2022Glendale Glen Hamnavoe Burra Shetland ZE2 9JY
Received 21 Dec 2022Vidlin Shorebase Vidlin Voe Shetland ZE2 9QF
Received 21 Dec 20224 Gallowburn Brae Shetland ZE2 9SJ
Received 21 Dec 2022Mid Yell - Processing Plant Yell Shetland ZE2 9BN
Received 21 Dec 2022Central Mainland Shetland
Received 21 Dec 2022Plots Skellister South Nesting Shetland
Received 3 Jan 2023Poly Tunnel And Shed North Of Roselea Cunningsburgh Shetland
Received 4 Jan 2023Land/sea Adjacent To Easter Hogaland, Burra
Received 23 Dec 202210 Greenfield Place Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0AQ
Received 6 Jan 2023The Steamer Skeld Shetland
Received 6 Jan 20235 Greenwell Gott Tingwall Shetland ZE2 9UL
Received 9 Jan 2023Glenburn Maywick Bigton Shetland ZE2 9JF
Received 9 Jan 2023Accommodation Pods Yaafield Bigton Shetland
Received 10 Jan 2023Land At Sumburgh Head To The East Of The Road
Received 10 Jan 2023East Lynne Hillside Road Sandwick Shetland ZE2 9HW
Received 16 Jan 2023Adjacent Symbister Ferry Terminal Symbister Whalsay Shetland ZE2 9AL
Received 16 Jan 2023Records 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