An ode to a corner of London that is forever punk

I was certainly conscious of the connection: the Westway is name-checked for a Clash live retrospective, but I have learned to love it as the ultimate accidental urban design chic. No Richard Rogers or Norman Foster craftsmanship here. Loathed and resisted, perfectly reasonably, by local communities through whose homes it scythed, once constructed it attracted its own fan club, of which I am a member. By coincidence, Trellick Tower, Europe's tallest residential tower block, won architect Erno Goldfinger a similar cult following, and it soars over the Westway just before the latter turns its last curve into central London.

There's even more history to be found in this neck of the woods. A few hundred yards north of the Westway, virtually in the afternoon shadow of Trellick Tower, lies 101 Walterton Road. Once the squat from which The Clash launched themselves in the early 1970s, this address is surely as worthy of "blue plaque" recognition as the addresses of the great literary and historic figures commemorated on the front porches of Georgian houses in Bloomsbury and Chelsea.

Joe Strummer gave huge personal and political support to the squatting movement of the time, a response to the combined pinch points of slum landlordism and the dreadful state of local authority housing. Indeed, just around the corner from 101 Walterton Road stood the fading houses at the top of Elgin Avenue that were central to the famous 1975 case in which squatters persuaded the GLC to find them all either permanent or short-life accommodation.

Later, the street from which punk band The 101ers launched its career, before evolving into The Clash, became caught up in the greatest local politics drama of the 1980s and 1990s: Westminster council's "homes for votes" saga. The estate of which Walterton Road was part became the estate of choice for coralling up the city's homeless, leaving other wards free for people regarded as more likely to vote Conservative – even though that meant moving homeless families into blocks the council knew were riddled with asbestos.

North of the Westway lies 101 Walterton Road: once the squat from which the Clash launched themselves in the 1970s, and worthy of “blue plaque” recognition

Then came the most extraordinary achievement of all: in the teeth of both government and local authority opposition (tenant opt-outs at that time were more designed to undermine Labour councils) the first estate opted out for self-management under the Conservative government's housing legislation, becoming Walterton and Elgin Community Homes. Last year, it celebrated its 10th anniversary as a self-run and totally rebuilt estate, at a packed annual general meeting of young and old, black and white, new and long-established members. They have reason to be proud.

Now, on the same block, Westminster council is back in talks with our local short-life project, which also recently celebrated its anniversary. The homes-for-votes years were tough indeed for the dedicated team running the project, but lately a warmer breeze has been blowing. The short-life project is keen to work with any partner who will give short-term housing to people who need a roof but are without the overriding priority criteria essential to get them anywhere near a council or registered social landlord home in London. In exchange, the landlord gets proper management and the security of occupation while the long-term future of the property is sorted out – an excellent way of responding to the empty homes challenge.