Planning applications and permits renewals could be done by a robot from next year.

An artificial intelligence robot named Amelia is being introduced by Enfield Council to answer some customer queries, although the authority have insisted all human call centre staff will keep their jobs.

Designed by IPsoft, Amelia will be included on the council website to help guide people quickly to correct information on self-certification for planning, and applications for permits and licenses.

If Amelia cannot answer a question, it calls in a human colleague and learns from them.

James Rolfe, director of finance and customer services at the council, said they hoped to have it up and running by 2017, and had been in contact with IPsoft for 18 months about the system.

He admitted the council have not yet consulted with the public about Amelia, but they would be talking to people and gauging reactions in order to make sure it meets demands when it is eventually rolled out.

Mr Rolfe said: “It does routine transactions quicker than our other staff, and it means we can have more people free for face-to-face contact with those who would rather not use an AI.

“It is about doing more with less, and there are no plans or intentions to cut our current call centre staff whatsoever.

“The public should not notice anything radically different, it will be like speaking to a person.”

When introduced, Amelia will be available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, rather than the limited hours currently available through call centres.

Currently, waiting times on council call lines average between five and 10 minutes, and it is hoped Amelia will help to reduce this.

The move has been greeted with some scepticism, with Terry Neville, leader of the Conservative group on Enfield Council, saying many councillors had no idea about Amelia before plans were leaked last week.

He said: “They have a growing reputation around London of being a council run by their officers and here is yet another example. Someone needs to get a grip and tell senior officers that they are responsible to the residents of this Borough and cannot act in isolation like this.

“Instead of properly planning how to provide the customer service that people expect this Council is jumping on whatever fad it can to gain a headline and try to distract residents from the poor service they are receiving.

“Across the business world companies are recognising that what people want is human interaction. I have no confidence in this Council being able to deliver this in a way that provides a service residents want."

However, the plans for Amelia were sent to all councillors on May 27, who had until June 6 to raise any worries.

Cllr Dino Lemonides, cabinet member for finance, said: “The cabinet has been closely involved in the processes, we have had regular briefings. Any councillor could have called it in, but they did not.

“The fact is a 24/7 council service will be a great thing.”