PLANS have been unveiled for 385 homes on the former Hallmark Cards headquarters site.

The proposals to regenerate the iconic Grade II-listed Hallmark House site on Bingley Road in Heaton have been unveiled by the new owners, The Investment Room.

They bought the site for £6.5 million in May.

The Barnsley-based investor and developer says it will be sympathetically converting the existing buildings into 145 homes and also creating 240 apartments within the grounds of the former card factory.

The development will use the original W N Sharpe name in a nod to its name when it was first built. During the 1930s, W N Sharpe of Bradford built Hallmark House as the headquarters for its successful printing business.

A public exhibition will be held on Wednesday, September 12, at Hallmark House from 3pm to 7pm to seek feedback from the local community before a formal planning application is submitted.

The main building, built in 1937, is a fine example of Art Deco architecture and key heritage features will be maintained and restored through the conversion.

In addition to the main building the site totals a further 3.3 acres.

Lee Jones, managing director of The Investment Room, said: “Our plans respect the immense heritage of the existing buildings, whilst also utilising the rest of this large brownfield site through high quality new apartments.

“We would encourage as many people as possible to take part in our consultation so we can get feedback before a planning application is submitted.”

The proposals were broadly welcomed by Heaton ward Councillor Mohammad Shabbir who said new homes were needed in the district, not especially in the city centre.

But he said it should not be an exclusive development: "The site is a big site. We need affordable housing, people can't be priced out.

"Social housing must be a key part of the development."

He said he would like to see "at least a quarter" of the homes affordable.

The access from Thorn Lane will be closed, with the only car access to the site coming from Bingley Road.

In 1984 Hallmark Cards acquired W N Sharpe’s printing operation for nearly £21m.

Hallmark Cards relocated its operations and 500 staff to Dawson Lane in Dudley Hill to bring the head office nearer to the distribution operation and create a dedicated design and creative space, resulting in the sale of