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
PlanningTrack collects planning applications and decisions from the public planning register of Shetland Islands. Search an address, application reference or proposal. Official Shetland Islands website
8,801 approved · 161 refused · 370 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 27 Jun 2000 to 19 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 21 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Fish Holm
Received 24 Apr 2009West of Black Well
Received 2 Mar 2009Ayre of Teogs
Received 2 Mar 2009Wick of Garth, Bluemull Sound
Received 4 Mar 2009Mid Taing, Gruting Voe
Received 16 Feb 2009North of Geo of Valladale, Urafirth, Hillswick
Received 3 Feb 2009Setterness South, Lunna
Received 6 Feb 2009Wick of Belmont, Uyeasound, Unst
Received 19 Jan 2009East of Holm of Heogland
Received 17 Dec 2008Winna Ness (Site B)
Received 7 Sept 2005Roe Sound, Muckle Roe
Received 27 Jul 2010East Voe of Skellister
Received 28 Jun 2010New Pier, Uyeasound, Unst
Received 3 Jun 2010Seli Voe, Walls
Received 25 Mar 2010Bluemull Sound, Cullivoe
Received 15 Mar 2010Lambgarth Head, Laxfirth
Received 2 Feb 2010Lang Sound, Burra
Received 10 Feb 2010Adjacent To Aithsvoe Pier, Cunningsburgh
Received 6 Jan 2010Basta South, Basta Voe, Yell
Received 15 Dec 2009Site 2, Collafirth Voe
Received 15 Dec 2009Marine Waters to West of South Mainland Shetland
Received 15 Dec 2009Basta North, Basta Voe, Yell
Received 26 Nov 2009Tur Ness, Uyea, Uyeasound, Unst
Received 8 Dec 2009Foulawick
Received 2 Dec 2009Records are ordered by application ID, not submission date. Use search to find a particular address or proposal.
View all applicationsArea alerts send a daily or weekly email with new applications and decisions near a postcode, filtered by project type. £29 a month, up to 3 areas. Records are limited to the councils we collect.
Set up an area alertStart 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.

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

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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