Clearing overgrown Box and similar

[d000hg]

I have this outside our garden room window:

It was originally some kind of paved area with little hedges but now is just a 5x5m expanse of box and other stuff. I want to clear it for some sort of patio and I'm not sure how.

Hedge trim it to stumps then dig them up? Saw through the stumps at ground level?

 

[r896neo]

If you intend to pave the area then you'll need to remove roots, stumps and all. The easiest way is to drag it out with a mini digger, the hard way is trim it back and dig them out. spreading shrubs like this tend to be easy enough. Large woody shrubs and trees are more difficult.