Thanks David, had a good look around the pictures, I don't think its palm decline, the actual blades don't seem to be affected, only the petiole & leaf base. It doesn't seem to affect its vigour but ive only looked after it for 1 1/2 yrs. The most likely culprit seems to be petiole blight , as only the petiole and leaf bases are affected, although seen no spores as yet. I will carry on with my fungicidal regime and hope it clears up. Thanks for the advice and the links.........very helpful .............. cheers sal.