A council wants to make its website as high-tech as Amazon and Tesco.

Adur and Worthing council is investing hundreds of thousands of pounds overhauling its IT and telephony systems.

The plan is to create an online digital service for residents, businesses and visitors comparable to banking giant HSBC.

The £600,000 plans were partly approved by Worthing councillors at a meeting on Tuesday evening while Adur councillors will vote on whether to join the scheme today.

If approved, the digital revolution at the council will enable web users to access and control council services from the comfort of their armchair.

Councillor Daniel Humphreys, executive member for resources at Worthing Borough Council, said councillors and officers would be “rolling up their sleeves” to ensure the new system was a success.

He said: “This is another leap forward from Worthing Borough Council in our long term strategy to improve services to residents, businesses and visitors while shrinking the cost of local government to Worthing council taxpayers.

“Worthing Borough Council pioneered shared services with other councils in 2009 and in 2013 launched a 'smarter working' initiative which enabled us to drastically reduce the amount spent on office space. Digital is the next big step.

“What we're now aiming for is an online or 'digital' service that is comparable to that provided by HSBC, Tesco or Amazon.

“In the new year councillors and officers will be rolling our sleeves up to ensure that we have a system in place that allows residents, businesses and visitors to access and control council services from the comfort of their armchair.”

The plans also include an authority-wide overhaul of telephony systems – including upgrading software and phone lines in customer-facing contact centres.

The whole scheme is intended to be rolled out over the next five years, with the first developments seen as early as the New Year.