Even though he lives more than 10,000 miles away in Australia, the fortunes of his hometown Halifax remain as important to him as when he last lived here 15 years ago.

Mr Ellis took up an open invitation to readers of our website to join in the debate on the regeneration of our town.

And in today's Courier he tackles the subject in a refreshingly upbeat and positive manner. An example of the bigger picture unsullied by irritating minutae.

There is no doubt people will disagree with some of what he advocates, including his belief that our district is and will remain fragmented under the Calderdale banner – a "compromise" name "that pleases nobody".

His arguments about the future usage and updating of the railway station, swimming pool and the notion of the town centre being "dead" are well constructed and offer food for thought. His reasearch is thorough, his conclusions eminently worthy of greater investigation.

The detatched nature of his views make them all the more important. While we all shop in the town centre, how many of us admire its spectacular backdrop with Beacon Hill towering in the distance? It is unique. But do we see it?

He argues it is crucial to the future of the Halifax and the district as a whole that we get our own university and adds that this has helped transformed places like Lincoln and Huddersfield.

The link between Calderdale College and Leeds Metropolitan University is a significant step forward, but we should accept nothing less than a fully functional seat of higher learning and the huge boost to the social, educational, cultural and financial future of the district it would bring.

His vision for the Piece Hall as a central square with year-round attractions, fine food and a venue for major one-off events is not new but right, nevertheless.

Halifax and Calderdale needs the views of people like Peter Ellis. Its future depends on them.