AROUND 300,000 visitors are expected to walk through the doors of a city centre tea room which has undergone a £10 million renovation scheme.

Mackintosh at the Willow has been closed to the public since 2014 while work, to restore the building to how it was remodelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903, is carried out.

With material being imported from Europe to add the final touches to the project it is hoped the four-year restoration plan will be completed within a month.

The A-listed building at 217 Sauchiehall Street, which includes a 200-seat restaurant, has also been granted a licence to sell alcohol from 11am until 11pm daily.

The famous tea rooms first opened in 1903 and are the only surviving tea rooms designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The visitor centre sits next door.

Over the years the building has changed ownership and has gradually deteriorated. But in 2014 it was purchased by The Willow Tea Rooms Trust in 2014 in order to prevent the forced sale of the building, closure and loss of its contents to collectors.

For the last four years it has been undergoing an extensive restoration in order to bring it back to its former glory, reopen it to the public and create a sustainable future.

It will sell more than just tea when it eventually reopens to the public. Plans were discussed by Glasgow City Council’s licensing board on Friday morning.

Speaking on Trust’s behalf, Jack Cummings, solicitor, said: “This is a remarkable £10 million project which is expected to attract 300,000 visitors each year.”

“It is a world class piece of work which Glasgow can be proud of. Some of the material needed to complete the project is coming from Belgium.

“Once that has arrived completion will be on the near horizon. We are probably about a month away from finishing the project.

“Fire evacuation and escape routes are all in place and an up-to-date fire risk assessment has been carried out.”

Councillor Alex Wilson said: “The pictures of the building are outstanding. I hope Brexit will not impact the material being imported from Europe.”

He was informed that it would not. Following a discussion members agreed to grant the licence.