Orkney Council approves 96.0% of planning applications, based on 7,933 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Orkney sits 8.0 percentage points above the national average.
Enter your postcode for a free, personalised approval pattern report — based on your ward and application type.
Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Orkney.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 7,615 | 318 | 7,933 | 96.0% |
A loft conversion in one ward can have a 90% approval rate. In the next ward, 55%. The free check tells you which side you're on — your free property report is emailed in minutes.
Check My PostcodeWard-level data reveals where planning applications are most and least likely to succeed. Officers, local policies, and neighbourhood character all play a role.
| Ward | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Mainland | 1,557 | 75 | 1,632 | 95.4% |
| East Mainland, South Ronaldsay & Burray | 1,340 | 63 | 1,403 | 95.5% |
| Kirkwall West & Orphir | 1,312 | 48 | 1,360 | 96.5% |
| North Isles | 1,161 | 27 | 1,188 | 97.7% |
| Stromness & South Isles | 1,126 | 49 | 1,175 | 95.8% |
| Kirkwall East | 1,046 | 52 | 1,098 | 95.3% |
How Orkney’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — down 0.2pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Orkney council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 25/418/HH Kirkwall West & Orphir | Re-roof a house and alterations to roof pitch | Approved |
| 25/204/HH West Mainland | Extend a house and erect domestic shed (part retrospective) | Approved |
| 26/050/CLOPUD West Mainland | Extend a house | Approved |
| 26/036/PN Kirkwall West & Orphir | Install a 2.5 metre tower extension, nine antennas, 15 RFFs, and ancillary devel | Approved |
| 25/421/PP West Mainland | Erect a shed and install a ground mounted solar array | Approved |
| 25/435/APN West Mainland | Erect a GP shed | Approved |
| 25/319/AMC North Isles | Change of use of land to domestic and erect a domestic shed (following planning | Approved |
| 25/417/HH Kirkwall West & Orphir | Re-roof a house and alter roof pitch | Approved |
| 25/431/HH East Mainland, South Ronaldsay & Burray | Extend a house | Approved |
| 25/397/PP West Mainland | Erect a general purpose shed | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your free property report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Orkney's 7,933 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Orkney's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Orkney's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Yes. PlanningLens offers a free planning permission check for Orkney. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 7,933 real decisions from Orkney council. The full property-specific report is also free and emailed within minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanningLens for a free instant check based on Orkney's real planning decisions. The free property report goes further: it analyses the 20 nearest comparable decisions to your property, ward-level refusal patterns, and approval rates by application type. Free and emailed within minutes.
Based on 7,933 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Orkney is 96.0%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 7,933 planning decisions from Orkney council. 7,615 were approved and 318 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Orkney is 96.0%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the free PlanningLens postcode check to get a personalised score.