Dealing with your application

Preparing Your Application

To apply, complete the relevant application form and prepare the plans, elevations and other supporting documents required. Different forms apply depending on the type of application. See the Application Types page for details (link below).

Make sure the form is completed correctly and that all relevant documents are included. Incomplete applications will be treated as invalid. Full details of what is required are set out in the Validation and Determination of Planning Applications guidance (link below).

Costs and Fees

Most applications require a fee. Fee amounts, and which applications are exempt, are listed in our Planning Fees document (see downloads below). You can also check the Council Charges page, or use the fee calculator on the Scottish Government ePlanning website.

How to Submit

You can submit your application in one of two ways:

• Online, through the ePlanning Scotland website. This is the quickest method. You are guided through the process step by step and can submit and pay instantly.
• By paper form, which can be brought or posted to us once completed.

Both routes are explained on the Application Search and Submission page (link below).

What Happens After Submission

Validation

Once received, your application is checked. If it is invalid, for example because information is missing, we will let you know. If it is valid, we will send an acknowledgement letter confirming your case officer and the expected decision date. We then carry out further steps, which may include notifying neighbours, consulting other Council services and external agencies, and publishing the application online.

Neighbour Notification

After an application is validated, we notify neighbours. Any addressable property within 20 metres of the site boundary will receive a letter. If land within 20 metres has no addressable property, we place a public notice in a local newspaper, currently The Orcadian, at the applicant's cost, currently £82.50. Notifying owners and agricultural tenants is the applicant's responsibility.

Some applications also require a press advert due to specific criteria, which may carry an additional fee.

Consultations

We may consult other Council services, for example Roads Services on access and parking, or Environmental Health on noise. We may also consult external agencies such as NatureScot, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, or Historic Environment Scotland where a proposal could affect the natural or built environment.

Public Access

Your application, plans, and any representations received are published online for the public to view, track, and comment on, via the Application Search and Submission page. This is also the stage at which the public can submit representations.

How We Assess Your Application

We assess applications against the development plan, currently the Orkney Local Development Plan 2017 and National Planning Framework 4. Under Section 25 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended, decisions must follow the development plan unless other material considerations indicate otherwise.

Material considerations include planning policy, design, traffic, noise, planning history, impact on public amenity, and external planning constraints. See the Material Planning Considerations page for more detail (link below), and the Planning Constraints page for site specific issues that may affect your application.

Some things are not material considerations and cannot be treated as valid objections. These include matters covered by other legislation, such as licensing or Building Standards, private legal disputes over land or access, the applicant's motives, loss of property value, and loss of view.

The case officer will normally carry out a site visit. The applicant or agent does not need to attend. After review, the case officer prepares a report and a recommendation.

The Hierarchy of Developments

Every application is placed into one of three categories, which affects how it is handled and decided.

Pre-Application Consultation for National and Major Developments

There is a statutory requirement for a Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) before submitting an application for a National or Major Development. If you are unsure whether your development needs a PAC, you can request a Pre-Application Screening Opinion by submitting a Pre-Application Screening Notice (see downloads below).

If a PAC is required, you must submit a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) at least 12 weeks before submitting the planning application (see downloads below). The PAN must set out the public consultation you will carry out, agreed with the Council in advance. This must include consulting all Community Councils covering or adjoining the site, and at least one public event in the affected community, advertised at least 7 days in advance in a local newspaper. The advertisement must state:

• What the proposed development is and where it is
• Where to get more information
• The date and place of the public event
• How and by when people can comment to you directly
• That comments made directly to you are not the same as formal representations to the Council, which can still be made once the application is submitted

After the PAC, you must submit a report with your application confirming who was consulted, how the statutory requirements were met, and how you responded to the comments received, including any changes made to the proposal as a result.

Useful guidance on community consultation is available in Scottish Government Planning Advice Note 81, "Community Engagement, Planning with People" (link below).

How Major and National Developments Are Decided

Applications for National Developments, and Major Developments that significantly depart from the development plan, are subject to a pre-determination hearing, normally held by the Planning Committee, before being decided by the full Council. Other Major Developments are decided by the Planning Committee. Most Local Developments are decided by officers under delegated powers, with some referred to the Committee under the Council's Scheme of Delegation.

How We Make Decisions

We aim to decide applications within two months of validation, or within an alternative timescale for some application types.

Over 90% of applications are decided by officers under powers delegated by the Council, as set out in the Development Management Scheme of Delegation (link below).

Planning Committee

Larger or more contested applications go to the Planning Committee, for example where an objection has been received alongside a recommendation for approval. The Committee meets around ten times a year, with a summer break. An officer presents each application and a recommendation. Applicants and objectors, or their nominees, can address the Committee, and members may ask questions before deciding. The Committee may defer a decision to carry out a site visit.

If your application goes to Committee, you will be told the meeting date and process. Reports are published around one week before the meeting. Minutes, agendas, and reports are available via the Committees, Sub-committees and Boards pages (link below).

After a Decision

Once decided, a decision notice is sent to you or your agent. Approvals may include conditions. Refusals include detailed reasons. Anyone who commented on the application is also notified of the decision.

If approved, you will receive stamped copies of your drawings with the decision notice. Keep these safe, as they may be needed for legal purposes, and read the conditions carefully.

Approvals are issued with a Notification of Initiation of Development form, which must be completed and returned before work starts. A Notification of Completion of Development form should be returned once work is finished.

If you are building a new house, you will also receive a property naming form. Complete and return this well ahead of completion, as delays can affect your energy performance certificate, telephone connection, and insurance.

Right of Appeal or Review

Objectors have no right of appeal against an approval. Applicants can appeal or request a review in the following cases: the application is refused, the applicant disagrees with a condition, or the application is not decided within the specified timescale.

Where the Planning Committee or full Council made the decision, the right is to appeal to the Scottish Ministers through the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division, which normally appoints a Reporter to decide the case by written representations, a hearing, or, for large or complex cases, a public inquiry.

Where officers made the decision, the right is to request a review from the Local Review Body (LRB), which in Orkney has the same membership as the Planning Committee.

See the Appeal a Decision pages for more detail (link below).

Conditions and Timescales

Planning Processing Agreements

A processing agreement is a project management tool available for any application, though it is normally used for major developments and is encouraged for complex or contentious local developments.

It sets out the key stages of determining an application, what information is needed and from whom, and the timescale for each stage. Benefits can include greater transparency, more predictable timing, faster decisions, clearer communication, and earlier engagement with stakeholders.

The application form is available in the downloads below.