Planning applications in Orkney

Planning in Orkney

Orkney refuses far less often than the areas we cover. Of the more than 2,900 planning applications decided since 2020, only about 1 in 18 was refused, against about 1 in 7 across the areas we cover. The picture has become gentler still: in 2025 the council received 409 applications and refused 13, about 1 in 24, compared with about 1 in 15 in the three years before.

Garden rooms and outbuildings lead with more than 400 applications, and only about 1 in 24 is refused, a long way better than the national figure of about 1 in 7. Windows and doors come next with more than 350 applications and are refused about 1 in 16 times, which is far less often than the national figure of about 1 in 9. They are, though, refused more often than the council’s overall rate, so they are not quite a formality.

Solar panels and fences, walls and gates are each refused about 1 in 12 times. Both are still well below the national rates, about 1 in 9 for solar panels and about 1 in 7 for fences, walls and gates. Extensions are rare in Orkney’s records: just 3 rear extensions, 2 front extensions and porches and 1 side extension, so there is no reliable rate to quote for them. Loft conversions and dormers (16 applications) and driveways and dropped kerbs (32) are also too few to judge.

On speed, the median householder application took 8 weeks to decide, and 51% were decided within 8 weeks, across 178 decisions between 2023 and 2025. That is about half, so it is worth allowing for a wait rather than expecting a quick answer.

The busiest year on record was 2021, with 481 applications, and the average since has slipped slightly to about 436 a year over the three years before 2025. For planning permission in Orkney, the numbers suggest that most well-prepared smaller projects go through, though checking nearby approvals is still sensible.

Figures in this section as of 9 October 2026.