Criteria

Each application is considered based on it's merits and how well it meets local objectives based on the following plans and priorities:-

• Orkney Council Plan Strategic Priorities - for communities that are:
  • Connected - integrating superior carbon-neutral transport with marine infrastructure and development.
  • Enterprising – promoting innovative projects that support each other to deliver island services to residents, businesses, and visitors.
• Orkney Local Development Plan - policies and supplementary guidance that
  • Facilitate best practice for all island developments
  • Support green infrastructure
  • Consider the integrity of natural heritage, land and seascapes
  • Integrate land and marine planning in coastal development decisions
  • Maximise social, environmental, and economic resilience
• Scotland’s National Marine Plan and Pilot Pentland Firth Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan and the Orkney Regional Marine Plan (upon 2024 publication) principles to guide:
  • Sustainable development in appropriate areas
  • Balanced approach to managing human activities with regard for environmental protection and climate change adaptation
  • Opportunities for multiple use of marine space by different users
  • Involvement and collaboration with partners and citizens
• Orkney Sustainable Energy Strategy - ambitions for: 
  • Achieving carbon-neutral targets
  • Encouraging Orkney’s legacy for energy innovations
  • Enabling economic investment that adds value to the wider Orkney community
• Orkney Biodiversity Duties and the Local Biodiversity Action Plan - that address:
  • Ecologically unique features and their conservation
  • Incorporating biodiversity across Orkney plans and policies
  • Investment in natural capital and ecosystem restoration
  • Monitoring, recording and sharing findings among commercial, scientific, NGO and citizens’ groups
  • Community partnerships that can contribute to national and international objectives
  • Regulatory mechanisms that support, mitigate and enforce environmental protection
  • Support for education projects and workshops
• National Islands Plan - Strategic Objectives aimed at improving and contributing to: 
  • Sustainable economic development
  • Community resilience
  • Environmental wellbeing and biosecurity
  • Climate change mitigation/ adaptation and energy security