Sooty bark/Phytophthora ?

[Treemoose]

Sooty bark disease is almost confined to sycamore, but has occasionally been found on other maples.from consulting sprouts and winter,they suggest it is only prevelant after high temperatures and prolonged dry weather. Given these factors it seems highly unlikely.I'm in agreement with coleman on his theories,and that its extremely difficult to tell from the limited information.were there any other localised environmental factors that could be problematic?

 

The tree was at the back of the garden on a small bank that had been partially dug back to make the area flat and also a shed on a base directly next to it. So the root plate must of had some damage/compaction at some stage. The garden has a history of tree failure (wind throw) from what the customer said.

 

I'll try to take a lot more pictures next time