Michael Gove has ordered officials to review new health and safety regulations that are shrinking the size of windows to stop people falling out.

Rules for new build homes mean that upstairs windows should be at least 1.1 metres (3.6ft) from the floor, but critics say homes will be darker and less attractive.

The regulations were introduced over fears that hotter summers brought on by global warming will lead to people opening their windows more frequently, putting them at risk of falling out. 

But the Levelling Up Secretary has now instructed policymakers to look again at the regulations.

A government source said: “The Secretary of State has asked officials to look at this. While we will not compromise on safety, these regulations – however well intentioned – risk creating perverse outcomes.

“The Secretary of State is clear that communities will not welcome ugly homes caused by needless red tape.”

The source added: “Beauty must be at the heart of our reforms to the planning system.”

The regulations require windows sills to be raised a minimum of 1.1 metres  from floor level. The minimum was previously 800mm.

A government report used to justify the changes warned that “openings which are intended to be open for long periods to reduce overheating risk might pose a higher risk of falls from height”.

In the consultation documents published prior to the rules being announced, the Government weighed up climate change as a likely contributor to British homes overheating during the summer months.

The regulations mean all new building work in the UK must conform to the higher minimum window sill height. Larger sash windows that can be opened, such as those seen on Georgian and Victorian properties, must impose bars or lockable shutters up to the stipulated height.

The rules are now beginning to show their impact on new properties as construction finishes over a year on.

An image of one new build that complies with the regulations in Lichfield, Staffordshire, this week drew criticism for its “small squat” windows.

Sam Hughes, head of housing at think tank the Centre for Policy Studies, said that the housing development was “an early example of the small squat windows” that the rules will generate, adding: “Behold the norm of the future.

“Climate adaptation and building safety are obviously important goals, but we have to be careful about how we pursue them. Most of the windows of Paris would be banned by these regulations. Does the Government really want to do that?”

He added: “There are ways of working around these regulations, many of which have already been perfected by the Neo-Georgian architects at Poundbury.

“The fear is that speculative developers won’t invest in these for more budget properties, meaning that lower-income buyers will take most of the hit.”