Orkney planning approval rate
Orkney council approved 96.0% of planning applications and refused 4.0%, based on 7,933 decisions analysed. Ranked 250th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
96.0%
overall approval rate
Planning in Orkney?
Check your postcode to see approval rates specific to your ward and street.
Approval rate by application type
Different application types have different approval rates in Orkney. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Orkney, mined from 7,933 proposal descriptions.
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Orkney. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
West Mainland (1,632 decided)
95.4%
East Mainland, South Ronaldsay & Burray (1,403 decided)
95.5%
Kirkwall West & Orphir (1,360 decided)
96.5%
North Isles (1,188 decided)
97.7%
Stromness & South Isles (1,175 decided)
95.8%
Kirkwall East (1,098 decided)
95.3%
Wards in Orkney
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Orkney, showing how the council decides real applications.
26/050/CLOPUD
Extend a house · West Mainland · Thu 26 Feb 2026
26/036/PN
Install a 2.5 metre tower extension, nine antennas, 15 RFFs, and ancillary devel · Kirkwall West & Orphir · Mon 02 Feb 2026
25/421/PP
Erect a shed and install a ground mounted solar array · West Mainland · Tue 27 Jan 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Orkney, 1 in 25 applications are refused. Your PlanningLens Full Planning Analysis gives you 17 pages of intelligence specific to your property:
✓ Ward-level approval rates for your exact area
✓ Common refusal reasons in Orkney
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Orkney →
Free. Based on 7,933 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Orkney
What is the planning approval rate in Orkney?
Based on 7,933 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Orkney approved 96.0% of applications and refused 4.0%. The council is ranked 250th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Orkney?
Orkney refuses 4.0% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 25. That is lower than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 7,933 decided applications since 2020, 318 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Orkney have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Orkney are in North Isles (97.7%), Kirkwall West & Orphir (96.5%), and Stromness & South Isles (95.8%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Orkney?
The most common planning application types in Orkney are: Other (7,933 decisions, 96.0% approved).
How long does a planning application take in Orkney?
Most planning applications in Orkney are decided within 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments, the statutory targets set by central government. With 7,933 decisions analysed since 2020, Orkney processes approximately 1,322 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Orkney?
You can search planning applications in Orkney directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 7,933 historical decisions in Orkney to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Orkney calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Orkney's official planning portal and analyses every published decision since January 2020. The approval rate is calculated as approved decisions divided by total decided applications, excluding withdrawn and pending applications. The full methodology, data sourcing, and Creative Commons BY 4.0 licensing terms are published at
planninglens.co.uk/methodology.