Building warrant service goes online

A new service has been launched on the Orkney Islands Council website which will allow folk to submit applications for building warrants online.

A similar service to the e-Planning system, the e-BuildingStandards system has been developed by the Scottish Government and made available through council websites.

The service can be accessed through the eDevelopment.scot home page, which leads to both the new eBuildingStandards standards service as well as the existing ePlanning service.   There’s a single eDevelopment.scot log in process so anyone already registered for ePlanning can use the same password for the new eBuildingStandards service. Applicants can also find links to the new service by searching for ‘ebuilding’ on the council website, www.orkney.gov.uk .

The new service is part of a national drive to deliver digital planning and building standards service right across Scotland, ensuring that businesses, service users and communities across Scotland can access a consistently high level of service.

In Orkney, over 80% of planning applications are submitted electronically compared to the Scottish average of just over 60%.  The system has proven to save applicants time and money.

Roddy Mackay is the council’s head of planning and regulatory Services.  He said: “Online application processes have proved very popular in Orkney.  It gives residents the opportunity to submit applications any time of the day or night.

“This new online process for building warrants is another way applicants can save time and money, and is very simple to use – we’ve already had applications in the first week of operation – so we’d certainly encourage people to make use of it.”