Richmond Council has questioned Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s decision to hand out £50,000 to London boroughs for bunting for the Olympic Games.

It was announced this week each London borough would receive the cash to pay for flags, banners and bunting, to create a uniform look for the streets of the capital for next year’s games.

However, Richmond Council said it would be giving “careful consideration” to what would be appropriate for the borough, claiming £50,000 was “a considerable sum in these frugal times”.

A council spokesman said: “Our borough will be in pristine condition come the Olympics and that will arguably be a better advertisement for our city than a few pieces of branded bunting hanging from lampposts across Richmond upon Thames.

“Maybe the Mayor would like to consider offering us an additional £50,000 to spend in on additional street cleaning during the course of the games, in particular to those boroughs which host events such as the road races which may well generate extra rubbish on our streets, notwithstanding our best efforts.”